


Olaf is Canonically Taller Than Me

by Kburgenstein



Category: Steam Powered Giraffe
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-21
Updated: 2020-07-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:22:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 11
Words: 31,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22341001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kburgenstein/pseuds/Kburgenstein
Comments: 8
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

The Spine woke up somewhere dark. He couldn't see anything, even with his enhanced vision. He couldn't feel anything, either, which was disappointing, but he had better things to focus on like how he was going to get out of wherever he was. He couldn't even hear anything. He tapped on the ground under his experimentally, but he couldn't hear it. He hummed. He couldn't hear that, either. He reached out via the connection between he, Rabbit, and Zer0 and felt nothing. He didn't think he could feel his own thoughts, but something in his head was screaming. 

He just wished he could know what it was. 

-

Clarke didn't show up to dinner, which was odd. The Spine didn't, either, which was more odd. David looked at the empty seats where they should've been. Rabbit looked sadly at The Spine's spot. The room didn't feel right with three people missing. 

"Where's Clarke? And The Spine?" he asked. It was a simple question that shouldn't have been hard to answer, but the oil slipping down Rabbit's faceplate made it so much harder to ask. 

"Clarke doesn't feel well," Chelsea said softly to him, taking his hand under the table. 

"And The Spine?" 

The group went silent as Peter came in with a polaroid picture in his hand. They looked at him expectantly. He set it down silently. Rabbit looked at it and stumbled out of the room. Zer0 followed her. Michael moved it in front of he and Steve. Steve passed it to Bunny and left. He came back dragging Clarke, whose face and hands were covered in black tears and was gasping for breath, with him. He tossed them to the floor and held his hand out toward Bunny, and she gave him the photo. He dropped it in front of Clarke. "What the hell is this?" he demanded. 

They looked at it and drew in a shaky breath. "They planted wings in her back," they sputtered. "Like mine. They can be easily killed before they fully grow when she gets back. The Blue Matter radiation would do it." They looked up at Chelsea. "Where was this?" 

Peter cleared his throat. "Zer0 found it in your book while you were sleeping. It only had Dean's fingerprints on it when he gave it to me." 

"Right before The Spine disappeared," they muttered. 

"The Spine's gone?" David asked, shrinking in his seat. 

"Dean's gone," Zer0 said from the doorway. 

Chelsea pushed Steve away and sat on her knees in front of Clarke. They nodded and slowly stood with her help. David looked at them and signed "are you okay?" to them. They signed "I'm fine," back before Chelsea led them down the hall. 

-

Chelsea had Clarke sit on the closed toilet lid in David's small bathroom. They mumbled under their breath as she got a small cloth and wet it down. She took their hand and wiped the tears away as gently as she could, but they still flinched. 

"This is my fault, isn't it?" they asked, staring at their hands. 

"None of it's your fault, buddy." 

"But I was with The Spine-" 

"And those people are good at what they do. The Spine would have woken up when he was taken if they weren't." She set one of their hands down and picked the other up. "Yes, you're a factor in all this, but it's not your fault. You can't be blamed for simply existing." 

"Then why is Steve so mad at me?" 

"He's looking for something to blame. But there's no way anyone's gonna let him do that any longer." She set their hand in their lap and tilted their chin up to wipe away the black on their cheeks. "How are your wings?" 

"They're normal, I guess. Blue Matter doesn't seem to effect them as much anymore. I'm not turning blue like the rest of you did, though. I can't tell if it's gray or black." 

"From what I know, you bleed and cry black, but it's gray under your skin. Like on your lips. And your hair is turning black." 

"Are my eyes changing color? Bunny's are turning blue." 

"I don't know. I don't really pay attention to eye color. Do you know what color they were before you came here?" 

"I never looked in mirrors. I told you yesterday. Or was it the day before?" 

"I'm sorry, buddy. I completely forgot about that." 

They frowned. "Oh. That's okay." They yawned. 

Chelsea finished wiping their face off and took their hands. "Are you okay with going back to dinner? Michael's making his famous spaghetti." 

They shook their head. "Not if Steve's gonna be mean to me again." 

Chelsea pursed her lips. "How about this: we go in together, and the moment Steve says or does something you don't like, you can leave. Okay?" 

They nodded. 

-

I sat beside Bunny. She patted my hand silently. Peter patted my back as he left. David signed to me from across the table. I tried not to focus on him too much. 

Steve set his hand on my shoulder. "Please don't touch me," I said to him. 

He scoffed and walked away. Bunny held my hand. I squeezed her fingers. 

"Y'all wanna watch a movie tonight?" David asked the group. They all mumbled. "Okay," he muttered under his breath. "How was everyone's day?" No one answered. I could faintly hear crickets chirping. "Someone please say something." 

"Shut up," Steve said. "We're not gonna bend over backwards to make you feel better. We're just as upset as you are." Bunny glared at him. Chelsea started to stand. David set his hand on her shoulder and stood. 

"You're right. Excuse me." He turned and left down the hall. 

Bunny stood and grabbed Steve's wrist. She dragged him down the hall. Michael sat on my other side. "This place is a blast, huh?" He nudged me with his elbow. 

"Are you being sarcastic?" 

He chuckled. "Yes, Clarke, I'm being very sarcastic." 

"Oh." I looked down at my hands. "I'm not feeling very talkative, if that's okay." 

The corner of his mouth twitched up. "That's just fine, buddy." 

I tried to smile at least a little at him, but the face I ended up making made him look a little frightened. I looked at Chelsea. "Can I leave now?" 

She nodded sympathetically. I got up and went to Camille's room, where David was sitting on her bed with his head in his hands. I knocked softly on the doorframe. He looked up and started to stand. I held my hand up. "It's okay. You don't have to leave." I came in and sat beside him. He leaned over and set his head on my shoulder. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders. 

"How did you do it?" he asked in a broken whisper. 

"How did I do what?" 

"You were so calm when Camille disappeared. It's like you're almost over it." 

I shook my head. "I'm still not calm, David. It still hurts so badly. You were calmer than I was." 

"I had Chelsea to take care of." 

"What're you gonna do now?" 

"I don't know. Without The Spine around, I don't have a job. I just can't figure out how that's my first problem with that." 

"It's okay, David." 

He sat up. "No, it's not okay! My best friend was kidnapped, and the only thing I can think about is my job!" 

"That's understandable. Just let yourself feel things. It's so much easier than trying to force one thought out." I ran my hand over his head. 

He sighed. "Will you lie with me?" 

I nodded. David and I moved to lay down. "Is it okay if I take my wings out?" He nodded. I slowly brought them out and wrapped them around myself. He nestled his head against one of them. I flattened it out so he could lay on it. He curled his fingers into the feathers and closed his eyes. 

"How long are they?" 

"In total, thirteen feet, last I checked." 

"How long ago?" 

"A long time ago, but I haven't grown at all since then. I stopped growing in the 30's." 

He smiled. "I forget you're old." He held my hand in his other hand. "Okay?" 

"Okay." 

I had no idea what that meant, but it was apparently good as David made a content noise. I draped my other wing over him, and he squeaked. "Are you okay?" He nodded and scooted closer. 

"Clarke?" Michael knocked on the doorframe. "You okay, buddy?" 

"I thought you only call me 'buddy,'" David mumbled. 

"I call everyone 'buddy,' David." 

He breathed heavily through his nose. 

"I'm okay, Michael." 

"David?" 

"'M good." 

"Just checking." His footsteps grew softer as he walked away. 

I took a deep breath. "I hope they bring Camille back soon. They should since they have someone else." 

"You say that like it's a good thing. Are these people gonna continue taking people?" 

"Probably not since Dean's gone. They only took people he saw I'm close to." 

"Will they take me, too?" he asked quietly. 

"I doubt it." 

"David?" Michael cleared his throat. "You gotta take your meds soon." 

David groaned. "I'll do that now, I guess." He got up and stretched. "Help me with the injection?" 

Michael smiled. "'Course." 

They left, and I closed my eyes. The quiet, unfortunately, was short-lived as Chelsea knocked on the doorframe. "Hey, buddy." 

"Hi." 

"You okay?" 

I nodded. "What's that smell?" 

"A cookie. Ever had one?" 

I nodded again and opened my eyes to see Chelsea standing in the doorway with two cookies in her hand. "Is that for me?" 

She nodded and came in, holding them out. I sat up and took them. "Thanks." 

"Have you seen David?" 

"He just went with Michael to take his meds." 

She nodded slowly. "I'm gonna go then. Night." 

"Night." 

She left, and I closed my eyes again. 

-

I woke up to a flash of light and the sound of something heavy dropping in the room. I inwardly groaned and hid my head under my pillow. 

"H- h... ello?" 

The soft voice made me lift the pillow. I sat up and looked around the room. Seeing nothing, I laid back down until the voice came again, this time weaker. I looked over the edge of the bed and saw Camille writhing on the floor with her knees pulled up to her chest. Only a rough blanket kept her covered. I got out of bed and slowly knelt beside her. 

"Camille? Can you hear me?" I gently touched her shoulder, and she flinched harshly. I pulled my hand away, and she leaned toward it. "Can you hear me?" She quickly nodded and flinched again even though I hadn't tried to touch her again. "Okay, I'm gonna go get Michael, alright? Just stay still for a minute, please." 

Camille went rigid. I sighed and all but ran down the hall to find Michael's room. When I did, I quickly got him to wake up and come back to Camille's room. He gasped when he saw her and slowly kneeled beside her. She cringed away. "Camille, it's me, Michael. We gotta get you to the HoW. Can you walk?" 

She remained completely still. I sighed again. "You can move now." She relaxed and shook her head. Michael looked up at me. "She can't walk." 

"Would you be okay carrying her?" 

"If she's okay with it." 

Camille slowly reached toward me and winced. I knelt beside her and helped her sit up. She dug her nails into my shoulders and hid her face in my neck. I rushed to cover her with the blanket without touching the gashes on her back. 

Michael retrieved a set of clothes and motioned for me to follow him. I carefully stood, pulling Camille up with me. "This is gonna hurt," I whispered to her before I lifted her. She made a pained noise but otherwise remained quiet as I carried her to the HoW. 

"I saw The Spine," she whispered as we entered the room. "They brought him in before they took me here." 

"Is he okay?" I asked quietly. 

"I don't know. He was shut down." 

I set her down on the table in the corner of the room. She held the blanket over her chest and crossed her legs. Michael nudged me out of the way and took my place. Camille flinched when he touched her shoulder. She reached toward me. I held her hand. 

"Is this okay?" I asked him. 

"Yeah, that's fine." He moved around the table to look at her back. "When did this happen?" 

"The first day. I don't know how long ago it was." Michael sighed. "Sorry." 

"No, it's not your fault. Clarke, do you know when that was?" 

"Four days ago." I squeezed Camille's hand. "Did they put anything in your back?" 

She nodded. "I don't know what it was." 

I grimaced. Michael glanced at me. "What is it?" 

"That's how I got my wings." I winced at Camille's eyes widening. 

"Can we get rid of them?" she squeaked. 

"Blue Matter radiation should help, but I can't be absolutely sure." I took a step closer to her. 

"I'll try anything." 

"Okay, we can do something with that." I squeezed Camille's hand reassuringly. 

"Camille, I need you on your stomach so I can stitch your back up. Clarke, help her. I'll be back." He went into the back room. 

-

Camille stared at her bed. "How the hell am I supposed to get in bed like this?" 

"You can lie on top of me, if you want." I adjusted the material of my shirt. "I can pick you up and lie down. You wouldn't be able to roll around, though." 

"Or I could flop face-first and wiggle." She smiled a little. 

"The wiggling hurts. I'm afraid you can't do that until you're healed." 

She sighed. "I can already tell I'm gonna hate every bit of this." 

"You were allowed to sleep in a bed when you were there, yeah?" 

She nodded. "I just had to put up with the pain when I moved, though. I wasn't allowed to sleep on my stomach." 

"Right. I forgot about that detail." I crossed my arms. "What do you wanna do?" 

She sighed. "I guess I'll sleep on you." She did her best to tuck her hair behind her ear. "I need water first." 

"Can you get it or should I?" 

"Would you? Please?" She sat on the edge of her bed. 

I nodded slowly and went quietly to the kitchen. I filled a big plastic cup with water and found a straw to put in it. I took it back to Camille's room and knelt in front of her when I gave it to her. She bent over and kissed the top of my head. 

"Thanks, birdie." She twirled a strand of my hair around her finger while she drank. I set my head on her leg to make it easier on her. "Have you read anything while I was gone?" 

"I read a chapter of that book on your desk and a few pages of three others in the library. I kept falling asleep, and someone kept moving them while I was asleep." 

"Probably Zer0. He makes the stacks you see in there because he doesn't know how The Spine organizes them." 

"How does he organize them?" 

"He separates books he's already read, books he wants to read, and the books Rabbit likes so he can read to her sometimes." 

"Hasn't he read all of them? I'm pretty sure he told me he has." 

"That's why one of the shelves is always empty." She looked down at her cup. "Do you want some of this? I can't drink any more." 

I took the cup from her and set it on her nightstand. "I've never liked water. It tastes bad." 

She blinked. "Don't you need it to survive?" 

I shook my head. "I'd burn through it too quickly to benefit from it." 

"That's really cool." She moved her hand to rest on my shoulder. I set my head on her leg again. "Why are you so cuddly, birdie?" 

"Missed you," I mumbled. "You were gone twice as long as you should've been." 

"It hadn't even been a week." 

"It's always been two days." I wrapped my arms around her hips. 

"Okay, let's go to bed." She patted my shoulder and gently pushed me away. I got up and carefully picked her up. I got in bed and covered us both, slowly lying down. She tucked her hands under her chin. "Night, Clarke." 

"Night, Camille." 

-

I woke up when I heard a loud squeal. Camille had hidden her head under the blanket and was shaking. I looked around to see GG running away, all but screaming "Camille's back!" 

I sighed. "Can we not do this right now?" 

"They're gonna have an emergency meeting," Camille muttered. 

"Right now?" 

She nodded. "Help me sit up?" 

I pushed her shoulders until she was sitting upright. She stretched and winced. "Didn't Michael say my stitches shouldn't restrict movement or hurt?" 

I nodded into the pillow under my head. 

"Huh." She moved her hair onto one of her shoulders. "I guess we should go, then." 

"Five more minutes," I groaned. "Could you get off me? I have to be dramatic." 

She chuckled and slowly got out of bed. I rolled over and hid under the blanket. "I don't wanna go." 

Steve opened the curtain and glared into the room. "Meeting in the kitchen." He nodded to Camille then walked away. 

I sighed and rolled back over. "Fine, I'll go." 

Camille took my hand and followed me to the kitchen. The humans were already sitting around the table. Chelsea smiled from ear to ear. David was quickly falling asleep sitting up. Bunny nudged his arm, and he swayed alarmingly. Chelsea steadied him and got up. She went over to Camille and carefully hugged her. 

"So what are we doing here at this hour?" Bunny asked. 

"We do this every time someone comes back, Bunny." 

She nodded but didn't say anything else. 

Chelsea looked around. "Couldn't we have done this in the morning?" I nodded in agreement. 

"Clarke, you just wanna keep her for yourself," Steve snapped. 

"Why would you think that?" I crossed my arms. "Did I do something to you or are you just looking for someone to blame?" 

"This whole thing is your fault. Camille wouldn't have disappeared if you hadn't come here in the first place, and now, because of you, one of our robots is gone." 

"He has a name," David mumbled. 

"Shut it, David. You've done nothing but help this happen. And you're not present enough to be in this conversation." 

Bunny had David lean forward and use his forearm as a pillow. "Steve, you're being a dick." 

"But am I wrong?" He raised his eyebrows. 

Camille took my hand. I ran my thumb over her knuckles. 

"We've already established that you are. You might as well get over it. Clarke stays." Bunny patted David's hand when he set it on her shoulder. 

"Why are you defending them? We were fine before they showed up! And they won't tell us anything about what's happening to our family-" 

"Clarke is family," Chelsea interjected. 

Steve sighed. "Care to tell us any more, freak?" he asked me tauntingly. 

"Stop!" Camille yelled. Chelsea looked shocked. David sat up. Bunny stiffened. "Is this all you've been doing while I was gone? Have you stopped to think that maybe this is what they want? And Steve, you're so much better than this! You've been nothing but an asshole to Clarke since they got here. You're not an asshole, are you?" 

"Sorry, Camille," he muttered. 

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to." She pulled me down the hall back to her room.


	2. Chapter 2

I woke up to one of the twins screaming down the hall. I sat up and rubbed my eyes. “Camille?” I called out to the empty room. Something fell with a thump, and I got out of bed as quickly as I could. 

I opened the curtain and peered out into the hall, and seeing nothing, I stepped out. I went into the kitchen and poured a cup of coffee. I carefully sipped it, leaning against the counter. Laughter sounded somewhere in another room, and quiet footsteps grew louder. 

Camille came in and smiled. “Did they wake you up, too?” 

I nodded. “Are they okay?” 

She let out a high-pitched sigh. “The twins get along exceptionally well, but every once in a while, they have small rivalries that take up most of a day. One of them found a toy dinosaur in Bunny’s room when they woke up.” 

“Why were they sleeping together?” 

“They do that sometimes.” 

“Are they punching each other?” 

She shook her head. “Bunny knocked David out a few years ago, and we outlawed punching and kicking.” She stood on her toes to kiss my cheek. She looked down at my cup. “You drink coffee?” 

I nodded. “I used it to replace meals when I couldn’t get food.” 

“Just straight coffee? No cream or sugar?” 

I nodded again. “I’ve kinda gone numb to the taste. This is really good, though.” 

She smiled and flinched when something crashed and David yelled “oh my God!” 

“Should we check on them?” 

Camille shook her head. “Wait for it.” 

Bunny came running down the hall with a small dinosaur clenched between her teeth. David was a few yards behind her and quickly catching up. He jumped onto her back and reached around her head to get the toy. She bit his finger. He hissed and jerked his entire weight to the right so Bunny fell on the floor. He wrestled her onto her back and took the dinosaur. She flipped over and pried his hand open. David kicked his legs up high enough to wrap around her neck from her back and pull her down. He got up and ran, leaving Bunny empty-handed. 

“He got better, Bunny,” Camille laughed. 

“I’ll be damned if I let him win,” she muttered, and she took off again. 

“I wasn’t expecting that,” I said into my cup. 

“They’re both really good at wrestling and climbing each other. We’ve been too afraid to ask since we got here.” She set her head on my shoulder. 

“Who put it in her room?” 

“I think it was Michael’s turn. He’s hiding now. The twins have figured out the pattern and most definitely will annihilate whoever took their turn on sight.” She started making her own cup of coffee. “This won’t kill me, right?” 

“Drink it slowly.” I set my mug down and got a glass of water. I slid it toward her. “You’ll need it.” I picked my coffee back up and leaned against the counter. “How are your stitches? Hurting at all?” 

“It hurts to move my arms a lot, but they’re okay.” She slowly brought her mug to her lips. “I don’t like people worrying about me, though.” 

“That’s understandable.” 

David ran in and gave Camille the dinosaur. She stuffed it in the pocket of her pants. Bunny appeared mere seconds later, spotted David catching his breath, and started running again. David groaned and ran outside. 

“How long does this last?” 

“Usually all day. It doesn’t take long when it’s Michael’s turn, though. Chelsea and I got good at creating conflict. For Yulemas last year, we got them both identical blankets and only gave Bunny hers for the day. We tried to give David his, but they just shared by the end of the day.” 

I drank the rest of my coffee and set the mug on the counter. “So what’s happening today?” 

“I guess it’s just gonna be a normal day. Breakfast hadn’t started yet.” She traded her coffee for the cup of water and sipped it. “They’re coming back inside.” 

Soon after she said that, the twins came barreling inside, rolling over each other. When they stopped moving, they checked each other for injuries, and Bunny got up before David did. She stood on a chair to put another dinosaur on a wood beam near the ceiling. When she stepped down, David jumped onto her back and used her hips as footholds to reach it. Bunny grabbed onto his hips so he wouldn’t fall, grinning like a maniac. David looked warily down at her. She let herself fall back until David leaned far too much to remain upright. He stuffed the toy in his mouth and grabbed her arms. Bunny struggled to stand up straight again, and they both toppled over. David started wheezing and rolled onto his side. Bunny sat on his hips and attempted to pry his mouth open. He wriggled under her weight and pushed at her shoulders. 

Michael came in, saw them, and sighed. “Still?” 

They both stopped to smile at him then immediately resumed. Michael smiled warmly at Camille. “Morning.” 

“Morning. Need some help with breakfast?” 

“I can handle it, but thank you.” 

She frowned but didn’t push. She drank more of her coffee and stepped out of the way. She joined me in watching the twins wrestle. They rolled into a wall then rolled the other way. Camille snorted. 

“How much longer do you think this is gonna go on?” I asked as I filled my mug with coffee again. 

“David’s quickly getting weaker, and there’s no way Bunny’s gonna let him get hurt. A few more minutes, maybe.” 

“Winner gets to opt out of cleaning Rabbit next time she eats food!” Michael yelled in the twins’ direction. “I think David just got a second wind.” 

Camille sighed. “Maybe an hour or so.” 

“I don’t get how siblings can hate each other so much sometimes,” I mumbled. 

“They don’t hate each other. They’re just competitive.” 

Michael scoffed. “They would sell each other for a single corn chip.” 

David and Bunny stopped and sat up on the floor. They looked at each other and laughed. “This is so dumb,” David wheezed. “Where’s the other one, Camille?” Camille sighed and reached into her pocket. She set another toy dinosaur on the counter. David got up and took it. “Thanks.” 

“One of you needs to go wash the other one before you do anything else today,” Michael said. 

“Got it.” 

“I will not feed you unless you do.” 

David laughed softly. “I know, Mike.” He went back to Bunny and traded dinosaurs with her then went down the hall. 

-

David went to his room to find Chelsea curled up in his bed with multiple blankets stacked on top of her. He tossed his dinosaur into the bathroom and felt her forehead. He immediately pulled it back. Chelsea opened her eyes. “Your hand is freezing.” She shivered violently and wrapped the top blanket tighter around herself. 

“Honey, you’re gonna sweat through all those blankets.” He sat beside her, and she shifted to set her head on his leg. 

“But it’s so cold.” Her mouth opened and closed like a fish. “My tongue keeps sticking to the roof of my mouth. 

“You need to drink water.” He ran his hand over her head and reached back to get his water bottle off his nightstand. “Can you sit up for me?” She groaned and hid her head under the blankets. “Either you drink it yourself or I can bottle feed you. Like a baby.” 

She sighed. “I’m not sitting up.” 

David silently pulled Chelsea’s torso into his lap and held her up a little and guided the spout to her lips. She started to reach for it but stopped when David pulled it out of her reach. She rolled her eyes and dropped her hand on her belly. David chuckled as he put the spout back in her mouth. “You could’ve avoided this.” Chelsea turned her head away, and he pulled the bottle back. “Better?” 

She nodded. “Can you put me back now?” 

“I’m just gonna let you get comfortable. I have to change clothes.” He kissed her forehead. 

“Are you coming back?” 

“Of course.” He had Chelsea sit up and got up. He changed into his work uniform. He got back in bed and held her tight. She set her hand on his chest. He winced at how cold it was, even through the fabric. “Your hands are cold,” he mumbled into her hair. 

“You’re warm,” she hummed. 

Someone knocked on the door frame. “Okay?” David whispered. Chelsea shook her head. He tightened his hold on her and waited for the shadow casted into the room to walk away. 

“I don’t think I can work today,” Chelsea whispered. 

“Yeah, no kidding.” David kissed her forehead. “What other symptoms do you have?” 

“Headache, sore muscles, fatigue.” 

“Sounds like the flu.” 

“I thought I got the flu shot this year.” 

David shook his head. “Not this year.” 

“I could’ve sworn I did,” she mumbled. She pushed herself away from David. “It’s hot.” 

“I’m gonna take a couple of the blankets off, ‘kay?” David sat up and started to take blankets off the stack. Chelsea flipped her pillow over and pressed her face into it. David turned her head so she could breathe better. “Are you hungry?” he asked softly. 

“Maybe.” 

“That… wasn’t a ‘maybe’ kinda question.” He chuckled. 

“Who are you to decide that?” Chelsea said into the pillow, having turned her head back. 

“Do you want food or not? Michael’s cooking.” 

“Are you giving me a choice?” 

“That’s why I asked.” 

She sighed. “Starve a fever, right?” 

“That is, in fact, what they say.” 

“Then I don’t want food.” She reached toward David. 

He faked astonishment. “Did you just have a rational thought?” 

“I don’t know. I’m tired.” She brought her knees to her chest. “Go eat. But come back. It’s cold.” 

David chuckled again. 

“And stop laughing at me. I’ll put my cold feet on your ass.” 

“Alright, I’m going. Are you sure you’re not hungry?” 

Chelsea started to move her leg toward him. He kissed her forehead and got out of bed, and she immediately reached for him, looking betrayed. He moved his pillow to replace his body, and she hugged it tight then pushed it off the bed. 

“I swear you turn into a cat when you’re sick,” he mumbled as he picked it back up and put it back in its original place. 

“Eat.” 

“I’m leaving.” He started to walk away, and Chelsea made a noise of disapproval. “What now?” 

“Kiss.” 

“I have morning breath. Are you sure?” He started to step toward his bed again. 

She sat up with difficulty. “Have I cared before?” 

“Only when you’re sick.” 

She rolled her eyes and made grabby hands at him. He sighed and leaned over to kiss her. She held his face and scratched over his stubble. 

“Do I need to shave?” 

She shook her head and looked at his eyes. “You have Rabbit’s eyes.” 

“Green and blue?” 

“Yep.” She kissed the tip of his nose. “Your breath is so bad.” 

“I don’t comment on your morning breath, which is awful, by the way.” He tried to kiss her again, but she turned her head so he kissed her cheek. 

“You’re so mean.” 

“Are you gonna let me go eat now?” 

“Absolutely not.” She shivered and pulled away. “Maybe. I’m cold.” 

David had Chelsea lay back down and pulled the blankets up to her neck. “I’ll be back.” 

“Can you get me some water, please?” she asked quietly. 

“Of course.” He turned and left the room. 

-

I found Camille sitting in the library with a book in her lap. She drank water from her big cup and set it back in her lap. I warily went around the couch and sat with her. She glanced up then immediately looked back down at her book. I picked up a book at random and started reading it. 

“That’s a dictionary, birdie,” she mumbled. 

“I knew that,” I retorted quietly. 

She chuckled and flipped a page. 

“Ca- c-camille?” Rabbit called from the doorway. 

She sat up and turned her head. “Do you need something, Rabbit?” 

“David needs y-you in the HoW. Hello, Clarke.” 

“Hi,” I greeted her. I looked at Camille, who had made no effort to get up. She stared at her lap. “Do you need help getting up?” I asked her softly. She shook her head. 

“I’m fine,” she muttered and pushed herself off the couch. 

-

I went to the kitchen and saw David getting a glass of water with a straw. “Who’s sick?” I asked, catching the smell of illness on him. 

“Chelsea.” 

I acknowledged his answer and started to make tea. 

“Camille’s pissed?” 

I shook my head. “A little overwhelmed, I think.” 

He took a different flavor tea out the cabinet I was reaching into and set it on the counter. “It’s her favorite.” 

“Thanks.” I looked at the box for future reference. He smiled. 

“How’d you know someone’s sick?” 

“Smells like it.” 

“Do you have a heightened sense of smell or something?” 

I shrugged. “I wouldn’t know.” 

He seemed satisfied with that answer and went back down the hall. I watched the tea boil on the stove. 

-

I woke up from a (really good) nap to the sound of Rabbit wailing. I got out of bed as quickly as I could to check on her. I found her near the front door and crying over an open cardboard box. I knelt beside her and set my hand on her shoulder. Upon realizing she couldn’t feel it, I moved my hand so she could feel the fabric of her dress ruffle. She leaned toward me until her body collapsed on me. I wrapped my arms around her. 

“What is it, honey?” I asked softly. She grabbed the box and pulled it closer. I looked into it and gasped when I saw The Spine’s clothing and a big chunk of metal. I didn’t know what part of him it was, but I knew it came from his body. I lifted the metal and saw something peeking out from under The Spine’s pants. I moved the cloth aside to expose a photo of The Spine in pieces on the floor with his clothes missing and parts of the metal on his arms. I checked under the rest of his clothes to find more metal. I set the photo back down and moved the box away so Rabbit couldn’t see. 

“We have to have a family meeting,” Rabbit mumbled. 

-

“What the hell are we doing here again?” Steve asked, looking more than slightly annoyed. 

“We have news on The Spine,” Rabbit announced louder than necessary. Everyone looked up at her holding The Spine’s metal plates. David’s eyes watered. Chelsea was already reaching to comfort him. Steve looked angrier. 

“They killed him?” His voice cracked in the middle of the accentuated word. Rabbit and I shook our heads. He glared at me. “You’re in on this, too?” 

“Shut up, Steve!” was shouted throughout the room. David excused himself and left the room. I started to ask if he would be okay, but he held his hand up to silence me. I closed my mouth. 

Michael came into the room with Camille behind her. They both looked around the room confusedly then stopped when they saw the chunks of metal in Rabbit’s hands. “Are those The Spine’s?” Michael asked quietly. Rabbit nodded. 

Camille crossed the room to me and held my arm in both her hands. “Is there anything else?” 

I nodded. “His clothes and a photo of him. Rabbit doesn’t want anyone to see it.” 

“What doesn’t Rabbit want anyone to see?” Steve piped up. 

“A gory picture of The Spine. He’s in pieces, if you’re really that interested.” 

Rabbit shuddered. She dropped The Spine’s parts with a loud clang and walked away. Camille stooped down to pick them up, and Michael stopped her with a hand on her arm. She glared up at him. “I can get it.” 

“No more than ten pounds, Camille,” he argued. “Your stitches will rip.” 

“I’ll be fine, Michael.” She lifted one piece with difficulty and set it on the counter then went to get the other one, not seeing Michael pick it up before she did. She sighed. “I could’ve gotten it,” she mumbled as she stood upright again. 

“You’re not gonna get better if you keep pushing yourself too hard.” 

“I’m not a baby. I can take care of myself.” 

“Camille, please,” Chelsea rasped. Camille stopped. 

“You’re sick.” She rushed across the room and set her hand on Chelsea’s forehead. “How long has it been this bad?” 

“Since this morning.” 

“You’re going back to bed,” Camille insisted, tugging on her hand. Chelsea reluctantly got up and went with her down the hall. 

-

David looked up when he heard someone coming to see Camille approaching him from the wires with a hair tie in her hand. He sighed as he sat up. “Need some help?” he asked quietly.

“Would you?” She gave him the hair tie and got down on one knee.

He gathered her hair on the top of her head and wrapped the hair tie around it. when he leaned back in the recliner, she didn’t move. David sat up straight again. “Come sit with me.” Camille stood, her eyes clear of any emotion as she started to take her pants off. David was quick to stop her hands. “No, not that. We both know you don’t want that.”

Camille frowned but said nothing.

“Hey, it’s okay.” David reached toward her, and she flinched. “Camille?”

Camille crawled onto David’s lap, tucked her hands under her arms. David circled his arms around her shoulders, careful not to touch her stitches. “Sorry,” she whispered.

“You don’t need to apologize. It’s not your fault.”

“Sorry,” she repeated.

David sighed. Camille winced.

“Are you mad at me?”

“Of course not, Camille.” David held her a little tighter.

“But-”

“You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“But-”

“I’m not mad at you, Camille.” He smoothed her hair down and spotted something behind her ear. She looked closer to see a serial number tattooed just below her hairline. “That’s horrible,” he whispered more to himself than anyone else, but she clearly heard it.

Camille untucked her hands and wrapped one arm around David’s neck as much as she could with her stitches still in. She looked at her watch. “You need to take your meds soon.”

“I’m not worried about that.”

Camille sighed. “How’re Clarke’s wings?” 

“Healed entirely. Changing colors. Have they not said anything about it?” 

“They’ve been really focused on making sure I’m okay.” 

David smiled. “That’s sweet.” 

“In the mildly annoying sorta way, yeah.” 

“Still hate any form of concern, huh?” 

“Absolutely.” 

David set his hand on her head. “Are you hungry?” 

She shook her head. 

“You’re sure?” 

She nodded. 

“Positive?” 

She shook her head. 

“Are you hungry?” 

She shook her head. 

David sighed. Camille flinched. He started to sit up, and she held on tighter. “C’mon, pick one.” 

“‘M not hungry,” she mumbled. Her stomach seemed to disagree. 

“You should eat something.” He moved his hand from her shoulder to her head. “Please.” 

Camille shook her head. “I’m fine.” 

“Camille, please. Eat something.” 

“I’m okay.” 

He frowned. “Don’t lie to me.” Camille got up and went back into the wires. They cleared a path for her as she walked. “Camille, wait.” David started to go after her but found himself stuck in a maze the wires formed around him. He sighed and sat down on the floor. He heard the door to the HoW open and close, and the wires went limp. David stood and went to the kitchen. He sat down in his place and folded his hands in his lap. 

-

Camille really was hungry. She wished she could have admitted it. 


	3. Chapter 3

David found Chelsea sitting in his bathtub with the jacket David was wearing when he first came to the manor over her shoulders. He knelt beside the tub and set his hand on her shoulder. She looked up and held her hand out. “C’mere.” She tugged on his hand. He moved to sit in the tub with her. She leaned against him. He felt her forehead. 

“You still have a fever.” He wrapped his arm around her. “You should take this off.” He pulled at the fabric of his jacket. 

“But it’s so cold.” 

“Chelsea, please.” David pushed it off her shoulders. “The longer you resist, the longer you’re gonna feel like shit.” 

Chelsea sighed and took the jacket off. 

“You’d make a good dad.” 

“Don’t remind me.” He kissed her forehead. “Wanna get out of the tub?” 

“I was gonna take a bath.” She set her hand on his chest. “Care to join me?” 

“I have stuff to do for Clarke’s wings. Figuring out how to get rid of them and stuff.” Chelsea gave him a look. “But that can wait a couple hours.” 

-

Camille woke up before Clarke and couldn't get out of bed without pain shooting through her shoulders. “Clarke, wake up.” She tapped their shoulder until they opened their eyes. 

“What do you want?” they groaned. 

“I can’t get up.” 

They sighed and sat up. Camille shuffled off their lap. 

“Thanks.” 

Clarke hummed and laid back down. She leaned over and kissed their cheek. “I’m making coffee. Do you want some?” 

They sighed. “You need help reaching things, huh?” 

“Mhmm.” 

“Alright, give me a second.” They sat up and stretched. “Can I see your back?” 

Camille sighed and turned around. Clarke lifted a bandage and hummed again. “You’re healing.” 

“Can the stitches come out soon?” 

“I don’t know. You’ll have to ask Michael.” 

She turned back around and looked around. “Have you seen my jacket?” 

“What’s a jacket?” 

“The thing I wore yesterday. You were wearing one when you got here.” 

“Oh. The open shirt.” 

She smiled. “Open shirt,” she giggled. 

“What’s so funny?” 

“You are.” She bent down and kissed them. 

“Coffee.” They took her hands. “I need coffee.” 

“Can you get addicted to things like humans can?” 

“Only things that bring temporary happiness.” 

“That could be anything.” 

“Yes, and right now it’s coffee. Please, Camille.” They squeezed her hands tighter. 

“Okay, okay. My jacket?” 

“I think it’s in the bathroom. I’ll help look.” 

Camille moved so Clarke could stand and went into the bathroom. Clarke shuffled around for a while then said “I found it.” Camille went back into the room and put it on. Clarke helped her into a pair of leggings and kneesocks. “It’s not that cold,” they mumbled. 

“Shh, I’m comfortable.” She zipped her jacket to be considered decent by Rabbit’s standards. 

“Alright, let’s go make coffee.” They took her hand and pulled her to the kitchen, where there was already a pot of coffee. Clarke experimentally touched the side of it then jerked their hand back. “Someone just made it.” 

“Huh. Would you get a couple mugs down, please?” Camille leaned against the counter. Clarke did and poured coffee in both. They started to drink theirs while Camille doctored hers. 

“Hello, Miss Camille.” 

Camille turned and lit up as she saw The Spine standing with his signature smile. She ran to hug him tight enough to make his chassis creak. He patted her shoulder with one hand and set the other on her back, close to her stitches but not enough to make it hurt. 

“Be careful. I’m still missing pieces.” He leaned over to rest his chin on top of Camille’s. “I’m not as strong as I was. I’m as delicate as humans now.” He laughed half-heartedly. 

“I can fix you up before breakfast.” 

“Are you sure you can handle that?” 

“Oh, sure. I have Clarke to help me. Right, Clarke?” She pulled away and looked at Clarke, who had taken to tracing a single pattern in the counter. “Clarke.” They looked up expectantly. “Would you help me fix Spine up?” 

“Sure. You’ll have to show me the ropes, though.” 

The Spine seemed to look worried. “Rabbit knows I’m here.” 

“So?” 

“I need to be fixed before she hugs me.” 

She looked down at her coffee. “Alright, I can drink this later. Birdie?” 

They drank all of their coffee and rinsed their mug in the sink. “I’m ready.” 

“Sometimes you’re frightening.” Camille held her hand out, and they took it. 

The Spine led them to the HoW and tried to open the door to the HoW but found he couldn’t. Clarke patted his shoulder and opened it for him. Camille sat him down on a stool. He started to take his tie off. 

“Clarke, have you seen those metal pieces?” Camille asked as she started setting up a tool cart. “Spine, what part of your body is in the worst shape?” 

“My shoulder plates are missing.” 

“Is that it?” 

“No. My insides have never been worse. Where’s my hat?” 

“We’ve been passing it around the manor. I think David has it now.” 

“How is he?” 

“He’s doing his best. Chelsea got really sick really quickly. He says it’s the flu, based on symptoms.” 

Clarke appeared with the pieces she needed. 

“Do I have to power down for this?” The Spine asked. 

“No, you’ll be fine. Can you feel things?” 

He shook his head. “They figured out how it works.” He shuddered. 

Clarke frowned. Camille went into the backroom. 

-

Chelsea woke up in a coughing fit. David rushed to get her to sit up so she didn’t choke on anything lying down. He got a cup of water from the bathroom and offered it to her once she finished. He coughed into his elbow as she drank. 

“You’re getting sick,” she commented. 

“No, I’m not.” He took the cup and went to refill it and brought it back along with a cup of pills he’d prepared the night before. 

Chelsea made a face when she saw the cup. “Gross.” 

“You have to take them if you’re gonna get better.” He felt her forehead with the back of his hand and frowned. 

“Can’t I just sweat this out?” 

“No, that does nothing. Now as a medical professional, I’m telling you to take these then take a lukewarm bath.” 

Chelsea rolled her eyes and took the pills. “As your colleague and lover, I’m telling you this is bullshit.” 

David smiled and kissed her forehead. “I love you.” 

She stuck her tongue out at him. 

David took her water cup and set it on the nightstand then led her to the bathroom by her hands. 

-

I gave The Spine's clothes to the wires and pulled up a chair for Camille when she couldn't reach The Spine's shoulders. She thanked me, and I checked on The Spine, whose eyes were closed. “The Spine, do you want a book or something?” 

“Please,” he whispered. 

I looked up at Camille. “I’ll be right back.” 

“I have a book I haven’t finished yet in the back of the wires. They’ll take you back there.” 

I warily went into the wires, following the path they created until I found myself in a small living room with a stack of books and a recliner clearly modified to hold The Spine’s weight. I picked up the book on the top of the stack and twirled the string from the bookmark around my finger as I brought it back. 

“Thank you, Clarke,” The Spine said as I set the book in his lap. He opened it and read silently. 

About an hour later, GG slipped into the room. “Spine!” she squealed. The Spine sighed. 

“Hello, GG.” 

“David told me you would be gone for another day.” 

“I guess they didn’t want me.” He smiled a little. 

“Breakfast is ready,” she- incredibly loudly- announced. 

“Camille?” 

“Almost done. Do you still wanna feel things?” 

“Yes, but not… too much? Like an average human?” 

Camille ran her arm across her forehead. “Of course, buddy.” 

“Thank you.” 

She set her hand on his shoulder. “Tell me when to stop.” 

She turned something in his back slowly while her hand moved back and forth on his shoulder. “Too much! Too much.” Camille turned her wrist the other way. “Better.” She turned it more. “Perfect. Am I ready to go?” 

“Yep. Your clothes are in the wires.” Camille patted his shoulder. The Spine stood and started to hug her, but she held her hands up. “You’re really cold. Clothes first.” 

He nodded and went to the wires. Camille set her head on my shoulder and crossed her arms over her chest. “Where’s my coffee?” 

“I put it in the backroom.” 

“You’re amazing.” She kissed my cheek and went into the backroom. 

The Spine came back, buttoning his vest. “Where’s Miss Camille?” 

“Backroom, getting her coffee.” 

He nodded in acknowledgement. Camille came back with an empty mug. The Spine hugged her. 

“You wanna stay in here for a while and readjust?” she asked him. He shook his head. 

“I’ll be fine.” 

Camille took my hand, and The Spine opened the door. We went out before he did and took a detour to Camille’s room so she could shower. I smiled a bit at the happy squeal that clearly came from Rabbit and the loud clank that followed seconds afterward. 

Camille hummed softly in the shower and I laid down on the bed, looking up at the dancing colors on the ceiling. I smiled when the room started to smell like flowers. 

“You’re awfully quiet, birdie.” 

“Just listening to you.” 

“You can join the others, if you want. I’ll be okay alone for a few minutes.” 

“It’s okay.” 

“You’re sure?” 

“Absolutely.” 

She went silent until she was out of the shower. “You think I can wear that jacket again?” 

“I don’t think they’ll notice.” 

She wrapped her towel around her hips and put her jacket back on. 

“How much does The Spine weigh?” 

“About a ton- two thousand pounds.” 

“He doesn’t look like he weighs a ton.” 

“He’s made of titanium.” She rubbed something in a tube on her armpits. 

“What’s that?” 

“This?” She held up the tube. I nodded. “It’s called deodorant. It keeps you from smelling bad.” She zipped her jacket and rummaged around in a small drawer under her desk. She came back up with a pair of pants and another much shorter pair of pants. 

“What’s that? The little one.” 

“Clarke, do you not… wear anything under your pants?” 

I shook my head. 

“How are you not uncomfortable all the time?” 

“I’m rarely comfortable.” My wings started to come out on their own accord. I sat up to give them more room. 

“O-oh, uhh.” She laughed nervously. “This is called underwear. You were it under pants or whatever you’re wearing on the bottom half. It keeps sweat and stuff from soiling other clothes.” 

“What’s the stuff part?” 

“In a lot of cases, blood, urine, that kinda stuff.” My eyebrows came together. Camille put the underwear and pants on quickly then pulled on my hand. “C’mon, I’m hungry.” 

“But I have more questions. What’s urine?” 

She dropped my hand. “It’s what liquid that goes into a mammal’s body turns into while it’s in the body. It’s what comes out of the body.” 

“What’s a mammal?” 

“An animal that doesn’t lay eggs. Do you not pee? Like at all?” 

I shrugged. “Don’t have anywhere for liquids to leave my body.” 

Camille looked concerned. “Noth- nothing?” 

I shook my head. “Why?” 

She shook her head. “Just wondering. You’re a very interesting person.” 

“I’m not human.” 

“I forget that a lot.” She took my hand again. “Breakfast is getting cold.” 

I stood. “Why does blood come out?” 

“It just happens sometimes. Remind me later, and I’ll answer that for you.” 

“Okay.” I grabbed Camille’s coffee mug off the table I forgot the name of and followed her down the hall. “Do you still need this?” 

“Nope, but you can use it.” 

Camille let go of my hand to sit in her place. I poured a cup of coffee and started drinking it as I went to sit beside her. David was clinging to The Spine, Chelsea was nowhere to be seen, Michael and Steve were cooking, Bunny was trying to get David off The Spine, and Rabbit and Zer0 were watching it all silently. 

Beside Rabbit was another person I hadn’t seen before. They held onto her arm. Camille waved at them when they saw her. “Who’s that?”

“We call her Clue. Rabbit took her in a few years ago. She’s the reason some of us know sign language. She’s deaf.” 

“I know sign language. American, right?” 

She nodded. I smiled and drank more coffee. When Clue saw me, I introduced myself. She smiled and did the same. David looked up and smiled. Clue and I continued conversation until Michael and Steve sat down. Michael patted my back. 

“Where’d you learn sign language, Clarke?” 

“James Burke taught me when I was around 40 years old.” 

The Spine looked confused then nodded. “Who here remembers sign language?” 

David, Rabbit, and The Spine raised their hands. 

“Chelsea remembers a little.” 

“Where is she?” 

“She caught the flu. She’s resting.” 

The Spine frowned. “I’ll be right back.” He signed to Clue, and she nodded. He pried David off him and went to her, and she took his elbow. They went down the hall. 

-

The Spine knocked on the doorframe to David’s room. “Miss Chelsea?” 

“Come in,” came her raspy reply. 

The Spine opened the curtain and let Clue in. Chelsea smiled wide at both of them. She started to sit up, but her arms started shaking as soon as she started to put weight on them. The Spine sat beside her and held her up. “‘M glad you’re back,” she mumbled into the collar of his shirt. “I would be more enthusiastic, but…” 

“I understand.” 

“What’s wrong with her?” Clue asked, her hands slightly shaking. 

“She’s sick.” 

“Hey, Clue.” Chelsea weakly waved at her. “Can she read lips? I forgot.” 

“I believe so.” He turned to Clue and asked her. She nodded. 

Chelsea smiled. “I don’t remember sign language.” 

“David said you remember a little.” 

“I remember ‘yes’ and ‘no.’” 

Clue frowned. “Are you okay?” she asked Chelsea. The Spine translated. 

“I’m okay. Just a little sick.” She coughed into her elbow. “I don’t want to kick you guys out, but I’m under strict orders to rest.” She hugged The Spine and kissed his cheek. He smiled and squeezed her a little tighter than he should’ve. He stood and asked Clue if she wanted a hug. She hesitantly bent down to hug Chelsea then took The Spine’s arm again. 

“Before I forget, do you know who has my hat?” 

“It’s on the desk chair.” 

The Spine found it and put it on. “Thank you. Take care of yourself, Miss Chelsea.” 

“I will, Spine.” 

The Spine closed the curtain behind himself and led Clue back down the hall. 

-

David latched onto The Spine as soon he sat down. “David, I was gone for two days.” 

“You were still gone.” He set his head on his shoulder. 

Bunny sighed. “Give the man some space.” 

“Thank you, Miss Bunny.” 

David only held on tighter. 

“David, please let go.” 

David reluctantly let go but kept his head on The Spine’s shoulder. “I missed you.” 

“I missed you, too.” The Spine reached up and patted his cheek. “Your food is getting cold.” 

“Is Chelsea actually resting?” he asked quietly. 

“Yes. She was nearly asleep.” 

“Good.” He sat up and started eating. 

-

Camille sat down on the stool The Spine used earlier and started reading his book from the beginning. She set it down immediately when she saw it wasn’t in English. 

David came in and coughed into his elbow. “Hey, Camille.” 

“You’re getting sick.” 

“I’m okay.” 

“You’re a bad liar.” 

“Are we gonna do this thing or what?” 

“Where’s Michael.” 

“Doing maintenance on The Spine.” He put gloves on from the tool cart she’d set up. “I need you to take your jacket off. Or at least wear it backwards or something.” 

Camille silently took her jacket off and crossed her arms. 

“Any pain?” 

“Not a lot anymore. If I lay on my back, it does.” 

“Is that it?” 

She nodded. 

“Do you need help with this?” He touched her hair. 

“Yes, please.” She took her hair tie off her wrist. He pulled her hair up but didn’t take it. 

“I already have one. Chelsea has a stash under my mattress for whatever reason.” 

“She plays with Rabbit’s hair a lot.” 

“Huh.” 

“Thanks.” 

“No problem. Where’d Michael put the stuff?” 

“Backroom, bathroom cabinet. Michael wanted to keep it under the table.” 

“Cool.” 

He went into the backroom and came back with a box. He opened it and started setting out tools. Camille started to shiver and put her jacket on backwards. 

“Sorry, I’m late!” Michael said as he came into the HoW. “David, what the hell are you doing?” 

“Leaving.” He left without another word. 


	4. Chapter 4

I wrapped my arms and wings around Camille when she sat on her bed. She set her hands on my chest and her head on my shoulder. “Does it hurt to lay down still?” She nodded. 

“Have you eaten recently?” 

“I just ate an apple.” I reached toward the nightstand and held an apple toward her. 

“You’re the best.” She took it and bit into it. “Have you ever had pets? Y’know cats, dogs, birds, tamable animals?” 

“No, but Abraham Lincoln had a bunch. His cat was my favorite. His name was Fido.” 

“Hey, Camille?” Steve knocked on the door frame. “You got a second?” 

“Can it wait? I’m eating.” 

“Kinda? I need help bandaging my hands.” 

Camille sat up. “You can come in.” 

Steve opened the curtain enough to come into the room. “Hey, Clarke.” 

I nodded in greeting and pulled my wings taut against my back. Steve took out the box of bandages out from under the bed and set it in front of Camille. I smiled wide. “I’m really good at this.” Camille and Steve gave me a confused look. “I was my own doctor for over a century.” 

“Do you wanna give it a shot?” Steve offered. 

“Yeah, let me wash my hands first.” I climbed across the bed and went into the bathroom. When I came back, Steve was sitting in Camille’s chair and had rolled it over to the bed, and Camille was smiling proudly. “Plague doctors were ahead of their time.” 

Camille moved to where I was sitting, and I sat in her place. I took out a roll of Kerlix bandage and set it to the side. I carefully cleaned his hand then wrapped it slowly. “You want to be able to move your fingers, right?” Steve nodded. I weaved the bandage between his fingers and secured the end of the bandage with a safety pin. 

Steve opened and closed his hand slowly. “Thanks, Clarke.” 

I nodded. “Any time.” 

-

Chelsea woke up to David shivering in his sleep beside her. She grabbed an extra blanket from the foot of the bed and covered him with it. His eyes shot open then closed half-way. “Why is it so cold?” he mumbled. His teeth audibly chattered. 

“You’re getting sick,” she sighed. 

“I’m not getting sick. It’s just cold.” 

“We’ll deal with this in the morning. Just go to sleep.” 

“But-” 

“No. In the morning.” 

David sighed and wrapped his arm around her. 

-

David woke up again that night and could feel his dinner coming back up. He scrambled for the bathroom but got caught in his extra blanket and fell. Something hit his gut, and he puked on the floor. He couldn’t bring himself to move any farther as he started gagging. He puked again and spat out what was left in his mouth. He looked up at Chelsea, who was still sleeping. 

The curtain opened, and The Spine leaned in without his shirt on. “David?” he whispered. 

“I think I’m getting sick.” 

He chuckled as he came in and helped David sit up. “You think?” He rubbed his back. “Go wash your mouth out. I’ll be right back.” 

David slowly got up and went into the bathroom. He washed his hands then brushed his teeth and rinsed his mouth out then washed his hands again. 

When he came out of the bathroom, he found The Spine silently cleaning the floor. “Spine, you don’t have to-” 

“I’ve got it. I don’t mind. Go back to bed.” 

“Are you sure?” 

“Yes, but I need your shirt. It’s contaminated.” 

David took his shirt off carefully and dropped it on the floor. “Thanks, Spine.” 

“You’re more than welcome, David.” 

He got back in bed and pulled the blankets up to his chin. Chelsea stirred, and he wrapped his arm around her like he did before. She set her head on his shoulder. 

The Spine left with a pile of clothes and towels in his arms. 

-

The Spine bumped into Camille going into the laundry room and apologized profusely as quietly as possible. She whispered apologies back. “What’re you doing up?” he asked her quietly. 

“Doing my laundry. Makes it easier on David since he’s got Chelsea to take care of right now. What’re you doing up?” 

“David got sick, so I’m washing his stuff.” 

“Like he puked?” 

The Spine nodded. “It was absolutely disgusting.” 

“There are a couple machines open over there.” She motioned toward the other side of the room. 

“Is Clarke still asleep?” The Spine asked after he started the load of towels. He started to put the soiled clothing in another machine. He started that load then leaned against the machines with as much weight as it would allow. 

“Yeah, they wanted to help but couldn’t stay awake for longer than a few seconds.” 

The Spine smiled and looked down at his shoes. 

“Do you have the time?” Camille asked, lying across two machines. 

“It’s 5:43. I suppose I should start the coffee.” 

“You should give yourself a break. You just got back from being literally tortured.” 

He shrugged. “It wasn’t so bad.” 

“Spine, they took you apart.” 

“And now I’m back together. I’m a robot. I don’t need recovery time. I’m not programmed to.” 

“You weren’t programmed to go to war, either.” 

“That’s different. I was reprogrammed. Temporarily.” 

“And repeatedly. No one expects you to be in tip-top shape right now.” 

“I expect me to be in tip-top shape.” 

Camille shook her head. “You don’t have to. We’re here to help you. It’s literally in our job description.” 

“But-” 

“Now is not the time be stubborn.” She sat up. One of the machines she had running stopped, and she put that load in a dryer. “Please let us help. A little vulnerability won’t kill you.” 

“I have to help David right now. I’m the only one who is qualified for healthcare and can’t catch what he has. Maybe being vulnerable has to wait.” 

Camille sighed. “I’m sure you’re not programmed to be this stubborn.” 

He frowned. “I’m not sure if I am or not.” 

She laughed softly as she went toward him and offered her hand. He took it and set his hand on her waist. She set her hand on his elbow. They swayed mindlessly- at least on her part: she was standing on The Spine’s feet- until one of the machines stopped, and they changed out loads then went back to “dancing.” 

“What do you think of Clarke?” she asked quietly. 

“I like them. They’re a very interesting person.” 

Camille set her head on The Spine’s chest. “They’re amazing.” 

“I think you might be a bit biased, Miss Camille.” 

“Maybe a little.” She yawned. “They’re really good at remembering things. Like someone mentioned my birthday one time like a week before it, and they brought me coffee when I woke up and gave me a necklace they had.” 

The Spine smiled. “I think they just like you. They forget everything else.” 

“They remember how to read.” 

“They didn’t actually try to learn until they met you. They said you read to them the first night they spent in your room.” 

Camille smiled. “That’s sweet.” 

The Spine pulled away. “I’m going to start the coffee. I’ll be right back.” 

Camille nodded and started to wander around the room. 

-

Clue woke up earlier than she normally would and got out of bed, careful not to wake Michael. He stirred just as her feet touched the floor, and he pressed a button on his clock and sat up. He smiled at her. “Good morning,” he signed to her, to her surprise. 

She signed it back with a yawn then started to leave, and he set his hand on her wrist. She turned back around. “I found a new toothbrush under the sink, and you can use my shower.” 

“Thank you.” 

She showered quickly and brushed her teeth. When she came out of the bathroom, Michael was asleep again. She tapped his shoulder a few times then shook it until his eyes opened. “Beautiful.” 

Clue smiled, and his eyes widened. “I forgot you read lips.” He nervously laughed. 

“It’s okay. You’re beautiful, too.” 

He smiled and sat up. “Can I kiss you?” 

She leaned over and kissed his cheek. He kissed the tip of her nose and let her move away. He stood and stretched. Clue sat on his bed and watched him go into the bathroom and close the curtain. 

-

David wasn't at breakfast. Chelsea showed up late. Bunny stared at her. "Where's David?" 

"He got really sick. He's contagious." 

"I don't give a damn if he's contagious. Where's my brother?" 

Chelsea sighed. "In his room. He's sleeping." 

Bunny stood and went down the hall to David's room. She opened the curtain and frowned when the lump in the blanket didn't move. She knelt beside the bed and set her hand on his shoulder. He turned a little and groaned. His jaw hung slack, his eyes were barely open, definitely not enough to see. He was visibly shivering. Bunny gently touched his face and noted how hot it was. 

"Hey, David," she spoke quietly. 

"Bunny… what're you doing in here? You're gonna get sick." 

"It's okay, I don't mind." 

"You need to leave." 

Bunny sighed. "David-" 

"Please." He coughed, rattling his entire body. "I don't want you to get this." 

"Are you gonna eat anything?" 

"Spine's bringing me food later. So the other humans don't get sick. You should go eat." 

Bunny hesitated. 

"Go eat." 

Bunny stood and slowly left. 

When she went back to the kitchen, Michael came in with Clue on his arm. She sat down in an extra chair, and Michael went to help Steve cooking. Bunny sat in her seat. Chelsea mumbled something into her mug as she drank some coffee. The Spine and Rabbit snickered then dropped their smiles when Bunny looked at them. 

“What’s so funny?” 

“GG just made Zer0 run into a wall.” The Spine grinned. 

Rabbit set her hand on his shoulder. “No, no, he doesn’t wanna talk about it.” 

“We should go check on him.” He took her arm, and they went down the hall. 

-

The Spine rounded the corner and snuck into David’s room. He went into the bathroom and filled the cup by the sink with water and put a straw in it. He sat on the edge of the bed and moved David’s hair away from his eyes. He checked him for a fever and frowned. He carefully woke him up. His eyes opened and immediately closed. “David, please,” he spoke softly, “I need you to stay awake for a minute.” 

David’s eyes opened, and he was clearly struggling to keep them open. “Hey, Spine,” he mumbled. “Do you need something?” 

“I brought you water.” He held the cup toward him. “Can you sit up?” 

“I can try.” He slowly pushed himself up onto one elbow then dropped back down. “Nope.” 

The Spine set the cup down on the nightstand and helped him sit up. David leaned against him and nearly fell asleep as The Spine picked the cup up again. “David, please try to stay awake.” The Spine nudged the straw against his lips. David drank some but not nearly enough as he should’ve. “C’mon, just a little more. Can you do that?” David’s head drooped. The Spine tugged on his hair, and he sat up. “Please drink more.” David shook his head and set his head on The Spine’s shoulder. 

“Can’t.” 

“Try.” 

David groaned and drank a little more. “I’m gonna puke.” 

The Spine silently picked up the trash can he’d set by the bed. David put his hands around it and spat into it. He pushed it away and set his head on The Spine’s shoulder again. “Can I go back to sleep now?” 

“Are you hungry?” 

He shook his head. “I won’t be able to hold food down.” 

After some thought, The Spine sighed. “Alright. You can go back to sleep.” David had already fallen asleep by the time The Spine had made the decision. 

The Spine carefully laid David back down and set the cup on the nightstand again. He made sure David was covered with a blanket and still asleep. He went into the HoW and sprayed himself with disinfectant spray then went to join the others. 

-

Clue looked around at the congregation and frowned. They all looked so stressed. Clarke made sure to cheerfully greet her then immediately dropped their smile. One of Steve’s hands was bandaged, and the knuckles on his other hand were covered in scabs. Bunny- at least Clue assumed she was Bunny: she looked a bit different since they last saw each other- clearly hadn’t slept in a while. Chelsea still looked sick. Peter still hadn’t shown. Rabbit had more oil stains down her cheeks than Clue remembered. The new robot- Zer0, Michael had told her- looked like a kicked puppy. The Spine looked the same but was more tense than he used to be. Camille had incredibly terrible at hiding that she was in pain. When the others hugged her, they steered clear of her shoulder blades, so Clue assumed that was the source of the pain. She asked Clarke if she was okay. They shrugged and set their hand on Camille’s back. She shook her head, and Clarke went with her down the hall. Wings came out of their back, and one shielded her from view. 

“How long has Clarke had wings?” Clue asked The Spine as he went to sit down. 

“Since before they came here. We still don’t know a lot about them.” 

“How long have they been here?” 

“A couple months. So far we know they’re older than us automatons by nearly seventy years, they have an asshole brother, pardon my language, and they were friends with Abraham Lincoln and Henry ‘Box’ Brown.” 

“Jeez. That’s it?” 

“And they didn’t know how to read before they came here. Oh, and they’re not human. More of a science project, really.” 

“Is that why they have wings?” 

“To an extent. It’s a lot to get into. I might tell you later, if you remind me.” 

“Where’s Hatchworth?” 

“He malfunctioned… badly. We had to put him in the Vault. Peter’s still working on a way to fix it. It’s become taboo around the manor.” 

“Oh. What happened to Camille?” 

“That’s for later, too.” 

“Where’s David?” 

“He’s in his room. He got really sick overnight.” 

Clue frowned. “He’ll make it, right?” 

“I’m sure he’ll find a way.” 

“Can I see him?” 

“He’s contagious. I’m really the only one who can go in there while it’s this bad.” 

“How bad?” 

“Pretty bad.” 

“But can I see him?” 

“Maybe in the next couple days. You’re not leaving soon, are you?” 

“I’m not planning on it.” 

Michael set out plates, and their conversation ended. 

-

GG crawled under David’s curtain and looked at his bed. “David?” she whispered. She hopped onto his bed and instantly noticed he was shaking. She used her mouth to drag an extra blanket over his torso. When that didn’t help, she tapped his shoulder until his eyes fluttered open. “You’re shaking.” 

“Hey, GG,” he slurred. His eyes closed again. 

“Why are you shaking?” 

GG lay down beside him and set her head on his side. 

-

The Spine sat on David’s bed and nudged his shoulder until his eyes opened. He sighed. “What do you want?” The Spine held up a banana. “Jesus Christ, dude. Are you gonna feed me, too?” 

The Spine frowned, abruptly reminded why very few people wanted to put up with David when he was sick. “You need to eat something. It’s been almost 24 hours since you’ve eaten anything.” 

“‘M not hungry.” He closed his eyes. 

“Yes, you are. You need to eat.” 

“And if I don’t?” 

“I’m not above getting Bunny.” 

David sighed and tried to sit up. The Spine helped him as much as David would let him. He leaned against the wall and took the banana. He started to peel it but gave up after a few times. The Spine took it and peeled it. David grumbled a “thanks” and started eating. “Are you gonna watch me eat or do you have something else to do?” 

“You’re my top priority. I will stay in here ‘round the clock, if need be.” 

“Is that a threat?” 

“Absolutely.” 

David ate the rest of the banana in silence. “Would you help me with my injection since Chelsea can’t come in here?” he asked quietly. 

The Spine smiled. “Of course.” 

-

Chelsea rolled over in her own bed and covered her head with her blanket. She could’ve sworn someone was yelling somewhere in the manor. She stared at the crack under her curtain until Rabbit rushed into the room. “Are you ok-kay?” she asked, frightened. “There was a l-l-l-lot of yelling com-com-ming from here.” 

“Yeah, I’m okay. Just can’t sleep.” 

“D’ya wa-want me to stay with ya?” 

“No, but thanks, Rabbit.” 

She smiled and left quietly. 

-

David woke up to screaming in the building, but couldn’t stay alert enough to identify who it was. Before he knew it, he was asleep again. 


	5. Chapter 5

Chelsea woke up to Clarke taking the dishes on her desk out of her room. “Thanks, buddy,” he mumbled.   
“Breakfast is almost over.”   
Chelsea sat up. “Why didn’t anyone wake me up?”   
“Camille tried to.”   
She rolled out of bed. “Is there food left?”   
“Yeah, but they put it in the fridge. The Spine’s already brought David food.”   
“Awesome.” She took her shirt off, and Clarke turned around. “You don’t have to turn around. I trust you.”   
“I’m actually gonna go heat up breakfast.” They smiled over their shoulder then left the room.   
When Chelsea went into the kitchen, two plates were already made on the counter. She looked around for Clarke. “Thanks, Clarke,” she said under her breath.   
“You’re welcome.”   
Chelsea looked up in the direction of their voice and saw Clarke lying on top of a rafter with their wings spread across others. “Clarke?”   
“Yeah?”   
“You okay up there?”   
“Oh, yeah. It’s cooler up here.”   
“Did you fly up there?”   
“No, I climbed stuff and sorta jumped and half-flew.”   
“That’s actually really smart.”   
“Thanks. The red plate’s yours.”   
“What’s the other one for?”   
“I have to eat more than the average human.” They turned their head. “Is there something under me? Preferably soft and fall-breaking.”   
“There’s a couch a few feet to your left.” They shuffled then dropped onto the couch. They rolled off the couch and went over to grab their plate. Chelsea smiled. “When did you learn to do that?”   
“I wanna say a century ago? It’s been my goal to achieve maximum comfort wherever I go for about 150 years now.”   
“Have you done it yet?”   
“Because cars with individual compartments for each passenger haven’t been invented yet, no.”   
“Okay, other than that, how far have you come?”   
“In the 80’s, I got a couple mattresses into the rafters of a theatre with really good performers. That was pretty nice.”   
“What happened to it?”   
“It was torn down. I didn’t get a chance to get the mattresses out. A real shame, really.” They smiled.   
“That sounds awesome. Have you gotten anywhere close to that since?”   
Clarke swallowed a bite of food. “Camille’s room is nice. With Camille.”   
Chelsea smiled. “That’s sweet.”   
Clarke got up and poured two cups of coffee. “Do you put stuff in your coffee?”   
“I can get it.” She got up and doctored her coffee. Clarke sat down with their black coffee. “You drink it black?”   
“Yep. Used it as a meal replacement back in the day.”   
“That’s kind of terrible, but alright. Doesn’t it taste bad, though?”   
“I went numb to the taste, but the coffee here has never been bad.”   
“Yeah, The Spine makes great coffee. He has labeled measuring cups he thinks no one knows about.”   
“The Spine made this?”   
Chelsea nodded. “He wakes up early every morning to make it. It’s when he’s most productive.” She drank half her cup. “It took a lot of trial and error to get it right, but- and don’t tell him I told you- it’s his second proudest achievements. Behind being the emotional support of the entire manor.”   
“That’s really cool.”   
“He seems to think so.” Clarke continued eating their food. “What did I miss in breakfast?”   
“Not a lot. Michael and Steve cooked. Camille is doing better than she was last night-”   
“What happened last night?”   
“She was just in a lot of pain. Easily fixable. Anyway, the robots were mostly silent. Bunny was quiet. David was still in his room and awake for the most part, according to The Spine. Clue’s doing well. She likes being back here. And I think that’s it.”   
“GG?”   
“She’s with David. Hasn’t left since yesterday.”   
“She’s gonna hate getting disinfected if he gets better.”   
“‘If?’”   
“Did I say ‘if?’”   
Clarke shook their head and finished their food. “Yeah, she’s gonna hate that.”   
They both giggled.   
The Spine came into the kitchen and got a glass of water. “David’s voluntarily eating now.”   
“Was he not before?” Chelsea turned in her seat.   
“You know how he is when he’s sick.”   
Chelsea sighed. “Is he awake?”   
“Probably not now.” He sat down with his glass and sighed as he started to drink. “He really is a handful.”   
“He’s a few handfuls.”   
“Can I see him?” Clarke asked.   
“He’s contagious,” Chelsea and The Spine said in unison.   
They frowned but said nothing else.   
“What about with protection? Like gloves and masks.”   
The Spine frowned. “I hadn’t thought of that before.”   
“Is that an option?” Chelsea asked him.   
“I’d have to take it up with David. He’s already kicked Miss Bunny out. Rather quickly, I might add.”   
“Ask him, and let us know what he says.”   
-  
Chelsea sat on the floor outside David’s room. She wrote “hi” on a notepad and slid it under the curtain. It was immediately picked up, judging by the sound coming from the other side of the curtain. It slid back out with an extensive list of symptoms. She frowned. David’s hand popped out with a pen in it. He wrote more then poorly drew a heart. He wrote “I can’t see the paper :/.” Chelsea chuckled as she brought the notepad to rest in her lap. David made some inhuman noise and threw his pen on the floor. Chelsea picked it up and gave it back. He threw it again. She gave it back. He threw it and held her hand.   
“Is The Spine anywhere near?” he asked in a dull whisper.   
“Not that I know of. Why?”   
“Human contact is still a contamination threat.” Chelsea couldn’t see him, but his tone implied a well-intended eye roll.   
“Have you thought of using your phone-thing? What did we even call that?”   
“It never had a name, and no, I haven’t. I don’t think it’ll be as good as this.” He squeezed her hand. Chelsea smiled and squeezed back.   
“So other than this ridiculous list, are you feeling any better?”   
“Yeah, a lot better. I don’t have a lot of energy, but I’m getting close to caught up on years of lost sleep. Who knew the secret was getting deathly ill?” he chuckled. “Anyway, I can finally hold food, but I lost a considerable amount of weight. My clothes are really loose now, but I’m sure it’ll sort itself out if I get completely better.”   
“If?”   
“You know I never fully recover. I’m incredibly optimistic being in the boat I am.” He sighed. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so dehydrated and hydrated at the same time. GG still hasn’t left the room, but she’s been really chill. I put down a bunch of blankets in the bathtub so she’d stop making so much noise when she hangs out in there. I forgot she’s a robot and metal.” David coughed and cleared his throat.   
“Throat still hurts?”   
“No, it doesn’t hurt, it’s just constantly stopped up.” He cleared his throat again. “I haven’t talked this much in a few days. How’s life outside this God-forsaken room?”   
“Really slow. For me, at least. Clue’s still here, which is keeping Michael occupied. Steve has been pouting for a couple days now. The Spine keeps insisting on helping even though we’ve told him repeatedly he needs to take some time for himself. You know how he is. Camille’s kinda back to working. Only when one of the robots specifically asks her for help. Mainly The Spine. They got a lot closer since he came back.”   
“Which is understandable.”   
“Right. Uh… Clarke is a lot cooler than I thought they were. They made me breakfast this morning since I woke up late. They said they just heated it up, but Michael said the others had something entirely different.”   
“I think they had pancakes. That’s what Spine brought me.”   
“Yeah. Clarke and I had a really complex omelet.”   
“How complex?”   
“I couldn’t finish it because there was too much flavor. And you know how much I love flavors.”   
“Jesus Christ. I didn’t know they could cook.”   
“Me neither. And they’ve nearly achieved maximum human comfort. Had mattresses in the rafters of a theatre.”   
“That sounds awesome. What else? What’ve you been doing?”   
“I’ve been working. Got caught up on the papers. Drank coffee. Pretended to sleep when Rabbit came to check on me at night. Did algebra for fun.”   
“Oh my God. Are you still sick?”   
“No, I’m better. Just so very tired.”   
“Then go to sleep.”   
“I can’t. It’s been really difficult.” Chelsea leaned her head against the wall.   
“Were you the one screaming? A couple nights ago?”   
She sighed. “I think so.”   
He held her hand just a bit tighter. “That bad, huh?”   
“I don’t know what happened. I thought it was someone else.”   
“I don’t think I’m contagious anymore. Fever broke.”   
“That’s a weird change of subject.”   
“It wasn’t.” He tugged on her hand. Chelsea looked down either side of the hall then snuck into the room. David wrapped his free arm around her shoulders, and she leaned against him. She closed her eyes.   
-  
Chelsea woke up in her bed and alone. She sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.   
“I can’t believe you slept for thirteen hours,” Camille’s voice sounded from somewhere in her room. Chelsea spotted her in her desk chair.   
“Couldn’t sleep at night,” she mumbled. “Who moved me?”   
“The Spine caught you and David in his room.”   
“Oh.”   
“David left a bunch of messages on your phone-thing.”   
Chelsea smiled. “What time is it?”   
“Seven in the morning. I was just about to wake you up.”   
Chelsea stretched. “Is David awake?” she yawned.   
“Probably. Spine hasn’t left the room since last night, though.”   
She sighed. “How mad is he?”   
“He’s not.” Camille pursed her lips. “Well, he is, but not at either of you. More at himself than anything.” She stood. “Food?”   
She nodded. “Is there coffee?”   
“Always.”   
Chelsea changed her clothes and followed Camille to the kitchen. The group’s eyes were immediately on her. Rabbit’s eyes flicked to The Spine, who was dripping oil from his eyes into his cup of water with his head in his hand.   
“David isn’t talking to him,” Michael whispered to Chelsea.   
Chelsea went over to stand beside him and set her hand on his back. The group flinched. The Spine sat up and carefully wrapped his arms around her middle. Rabbit caught his hat when it started to fall off his head. She set her hand on his head. She leaned down and whispered in his ear: “do you wanna leave? Get some air?” He nodded. She gave him room to stand and took his hand as they went down the hall.   
“Please don’t make me go back in there.”   
“I won’t.” She squeezed his hand. “You’re going to the back of the wires.”   
“How do you know about that?”   
“Everyone knows about it, Spine. We just keep it quiet so newcomers don’t invade it.”   
“We haven’t had many newcomers in a few years.”   
“We should get more.”   
Chelsea chuckled. “I don’t think that’s how that works.”   
“Maybe if someone said it out loud, it’ll happen.”   
“I don’t think we have room for more people in the manor, buddy. More people would be cool, but we don’t have space.”   
“We have multiple unused rooms.”   
“Spine, no one has come here since Clarke.”   
“But if someone does come. I’m staying optimistic, I think.”   
They went into the HoW, and the wires went rigid. Chelsea frowned. “Are the wires okay?”   
“They’re a bit upset. They won’t tell me why.” The wires created a path to the back wall, and The Spine quietly thanked them. “Are you staying with me?”   
Chelsea shook her head. “I need food. But I can come back here after I’m done eating, if you want me to.” She let go of his hand and led him to his chair. He pulled his knees to his chest.   
The Spine nodded. “If you would, please.”   
“Of course. Mind if I check on David?”   
“Go ahead. Could you bring him food, please? I would, but…”   
“Absolutely. I’ll be back.” She turned and left silently.   
Chelsea peeked into David's room when she passed it. He was sleeping on the floor by his bed. She continued walking and went into the kitchen. She poured a cup of coffee for Camille and set it in front of her. She took the mug that was already in front of her and downed it. She made two plates for herself and David then left again. She sat down on the floor when she got into David's room. She set the plates to the side and carefully woke him up.   
"Spine?" he rasped.   
"No, honey. Spine's in the HoW."   
He sat up and smiled. "Why am I on the floor?"   
"I don't know."   
He looked at the plates on the floor. "You might get sick if you eat in here. We haven't disinfected anything yet."   
"It'll be fine." She slid a plate to him and started eating from her own.   
"Is Spine okay?"   
"Not really. He's really upset. He asked me to bring you food."   
He frowned and started eating.   
"Are you feeling better now?"   
He nodded. "I want out of this room right now."   
Chelsea smiled. "One of us is gonna have to clear you."   
David got up and dug into his desk. He took out a handbook and sat back on the floor with it. "Please."   
"After we're done eating."   
David sighed. “I think I’m gonna sleep in your room for the next few nights.”   
“If you get cleared.”   
“I’m gonna get cleared. I don’t have nearly as many symptoms as I did before.”   
“Do you have another list?”   
He nodded. “Four drafts from yesterday.”   
“So write down a new one. And I’ll take the latest draft you have. I assume that’s the final draft?”   
David shook his head. “I have half of a fifth draft still in the works.”   
“Do you have to think about what symptoms you have?”   
“Well, some of them are side effects of my meds. I forget which ones they are, then I have to find lists for every one of the scripts and make sure they’re the final drafts. I cleaned out my entire desk four different times yesterday, and I have yet to find that list for the injection.”   
“You didn’t write one because as soon as you got over having a needle in your neck, you weren’t conscious enough to form any coherent thoughts, let alone an entire list.”   
“Right, I forgot about that. I should make a list for that now.”   
“After we eat.”   
“What’s the weather like?”   
“It’s sunny. Kinda cloudy. Feels nice.”   
“I forgot what the sun looks like.”   
“I don’t think you should be looking at the sun.”   
“I wanna go outside.”   
“Where’s that list? The fourth draft.”   
“I like four. It’s a good number. They should bring back a fourth robot.”   
“They have GG. The list, please.”   
“On the nightstand. Bottom of the stack, I think. It’s labeled.” He shoveled half the plate into his mouth. Chelsea got up and looked for the list. “Why aren’t you dressed?”   
“Slept late.” She made separate stacks for the papers. “You used my paper.”   
“I ran out of my paper. I tried not to use a lot. There’s a lot of front-and-back stuff in there.”   
“You could’ve ghost-written for Spine’s entire repertoire.”   
“And Rabbit’s.”   
Chelsea eventually found the list and read through it. “That’s my pen ink! How long have you had my pen?”   
“Which one?”   
“The blue-purple one.”   
“About a year now. Since before Clarke got here. Wait no, right when they got here. I used it for feather tests.”   
“To write with or to test with?”   
“To write with, obviously. The tests were just sticking a feather in a jar with Blue Matter.”   
“Have you done anything with that while you’ve been in here?”   
“Since I haven’t seen Clarke in a while, no. I need to talk to them before I do anything more. Unless I rerun tests I’ve done repeatedly before.”   
Chelsea sat back down and set the list down in favor of continuing to eat. “The manor’s convinced you’re not gonna make it.”   
“Has anyone said otherwise?”   
“The Spine’s been the only one in here, and all his updates were vague and only given if we asked him. Like ‘he’s finally eating willingly,’ ‘he’s really contagious,’ that sort of thing.”   
“Sounds comforting.”   
They finished their food in silence. Chelsea stacked their plates and set them aside to deal with later. She picked up the handbook. “Do you know which page to turn to?”   
“Bottom paragraph on page 54. Then there’s questions on 55. I answered them all yesterday and passed.” David scooted closer and set his head on her shoulder. He set his hand on her arm and kissed her cheek.   
“We’re gonna do it again.”   
“Can we get off the floor?”   
Chelsea kissed David’s forehead and stood with him. He picked her up and sat down on the bed with her in his lap. She wrapped her arm around his neck and opened the handbook to the right page. She read through the bottom paragraph then turned the page to read through the questions.   
David wrapped his arms around Chelsea’s waist. “You have to ask the questions out loud. Y’know with words.”   
“Shh, I’m reading.” When she finished reading the questions, she looked up at him. “You passed the whole thing?”   
“The whole thing. Most of them, at least.”   
“You’re supposed to pass the whole thing, according to this paragraph I had to read.”   
“Maybe reading that wasn’t the best idea,” he mumbled, setting his head on her shoulder. “Start asking, then.”   
“How much water do you drink daily?”   
“Half a gallon.”   
“How many meals?”   
“Two to three. And I’m not puking anything up anymore.”   
Chelsea twisted a piece of David’s hair between his fingers. “List remaining symptoms.”   
“Stuffy nose, muscle soreness, coughing, slight trem- wait, no, that’s a side effect. Umm, I think that’s it. No, sneezing, but only sometimes.”   
“Okay. Do you think you’re good to go?”   
“Yes.”   
“Are you sure? You don’t sound too confident.”   
“Chelsea, I love you, but I will end your entire bloodline.” Chelsea giggled and tilted his chin up to kiss him. “Chelsea…”   
“Okay, moving on.”   
“Are you taking any daily medication. If so, list them.”   
“You know what I take better than I do.”   
“Alright.” Chelsea looked around the page to find her place. “These questions are stupid.”   
“I know.”   
“Okay, moving on. Remaining- no, I already asked that.” She kissed his forehead. “Favorite food?”   
“You’re making these up now.”   
“Correct. You’ve already passed the important questions.”   
“So we’re done with questions?”   
“Answer the question.”   
He sighed. “Pasta. Can we go now?”   
“Hmm, maybe.” She kissed his head and dropped the handbook to run her hand over his shoulder. He sat up and kissed her.   
“Okay, just a little longer.”   
“I need to write stuff down to clear you.”   
“There’s paper behind me.”   
“Please tell me it’s yours.”   
“Nope.” He grinned. “Let’s get it over with.” He reached behind him and pulled out a piece of paper. “You have your pen, right?”   
Chelsea nodded. She took the paper and wrote down a detailed but vague report, using David’s chest for a hard surface. When she finished, she clicked her pen. “Ready to get out of here?” She tucked her pen behind her ear.   
“Please. I need you to get off me.”   
Chelsea got up and took David’s hand as he stood. They both went out, and David sighed happily. “Finally, somewhere not in there.”   
“Are you gonna kiss the floor and whatnot?”   
“I have some dignity, Chelsea.” He rolled his eyes. She smiled then gasped.   
“Plates. I gotta get the plates.”   
“We’ll get them when we disinfect the room.” He looked down at his feet. “Should I go see Spine?”   
“Give him a minute. I gotta go check on him, though. I told him I would.”   
“You go ahead. I’ll make the rounds. Is Bunny in her room?”   
“She should be.” She stood on her toes to kiss his cheek. He held her in place and kissed her. “I love you.”   
“I love you.” He kissed her forehead, and they went their separate ways.   
Chelsea went into the HoW and into the back of the wires. The Spine hadn’t moved since she’d left. His eyes were closed, and he didn’t respond when she called his name. She touched his shoulder, and his eyes opened. He sat up slowly. “Hello.”   
“David was cleared. He wants to see you.”   
“Where is he?”   
“Bunny’s room, most likely.” She sat on the arm of the chair. “Give them an hour or so. Until then, you get to hang out with me, I guess.”   
“... Can we cuddle? Please?”   
Chelsea smiled and slid into his lap, She wrapped her arms around his neck. He set his head on her shoulder and released steam from his mouth. Chelsea wiped the water that stuck to her face off on her hand and dried it on her shirt.   
“Is David still mad at me?”   
“He never was.” She ran her hand over his head. “You were a little overbearing, if I’m being completely honest.”   
The Spine sighed. “You’re right.” He rested his arms on Chelsea’s legs. “He’s not mad?”   
“He was annoyed, but never mad. He’s a lot happier now that he’s out of the room.” She kissed his forehead. The Spine squeaked. “Are you okay?”   
“I miss not feeling things. But I want to feel things.”   
“I can turn it down for you. So you feel less.”   
He shook his head. “No, it’s okay. It’s just a little too much sometimes.”   
“Did they know about it?”   
He nodded. “They turned all of my senses all the way up so even a little light was blinding then all the way down so I couldn’t even hear my own thoughts. It was… horrible.”   
“When did they take you apart? If you don’t mind answering.”   
“Both times. When I could feel, they threw the pieces at me, and when I couldn’t, they took pieces off then turned touch all the way up.”   
Chelsea held him a little tighter. “Is this okay?”   
“Too tight,” he whispered. She loosened her hold. “Better. Thank you.”   
“Have you talked to anyone else about this?”   
The Spine shook his head. “I almost told Camille, but I had to help David first. And the subject changed before I could.”   
Chelsea kissed The Spine’s head. “You should look into getting those memories erased.”   
“No. It’s not fair to Camille. And Clarke. They don’t get to forget.”   
“I suppose you’re right.” She set her head on top of his. “Do you need water or anything?”   
“I’m okay for now.” He wrapped his arms around Chelsea’s ribs. “I love you.”   
“I love you, too, buddy.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: alcohol at the beginning of the chapter, suicide/suicidal thoughts (mentioned)

David went into the kitchen to find Camille pouring alcohol into a coffee cup. “Hey, you okay?” 

“Oh, yeah, I’m great.” She smiled at him as she set the bottle down. She quickly closed it. “Glad to see you’re not dead.” 

“Yeah, me too. Not being dead is fantastic.” He put the bottle in the freezer. “Just booze?” 

“There’s coffee in this. A little, at least.” 

“Less than half?” He sat on the counter. 

“About a third.” 

“Are you sure you’re okay?” 

“Yeah, I’m good.” She leaned against the counter. “Just tired.” 

“So you’re adjusting well again?” 

“I’ve been doing great here. Why?” 

“Because you never drink during the day.” 

“Are you interrogating me now?” 

“Only if you think this is an interrogation.” 

She sighed. “I miss being there. Is that bad?” 

“Why?” 

“I don’t know. They treated me well, for the most part, I think.” 

“For the most part?” 

“It’s complicated. They really liked me, though.” She drank from her mug and set it down. “I kinda wanna go back.” 

David shook his head. “Don’t say something like that. Not where people can hear.” 

“Why not? Maybe they’re still listening.” 

“Camille, no. Don’t do this, please.” 

“What’re you gonna do, try to kill yourself again?” 

David froze. “Why would you say that?” 

“You know it’s never worked before. You do it so often. We’re both trying to escape something, right? So if I go, you just try again.” She grabbed an apple out of the fruit bowl they kept out. “Maybe this time, it’ll work.” 

“Low blow, Camille. Low blow.” David took the apple and bit into it as he left the kitchen. 

-

I looked up from my book at David passing the doorway. I set it down and ran to him. “David!” I hugged him tight when he turned around. He didn’t hesitate to return the hug. 

“Miss me?” 

“Of course. They told me you were still contagious." 

"No, I'm well enough to be around people again." He hugged me tighter. "Hey, can I ask you a question?" 

"Privately?" 

"Preferably." 

I led David to the library and into the back corner with the easy books. "Go ahead." 

"When you came back from… that place, did you ever wanna go back?" 

"No, I think I'd sooner hang myself than go back. Why?" 

"I talked to Camille just now, and she said she misses it there, that she wants to go back." 

"From what she told me, her experience was very different from mine. I mean, each time I was there was different from the last, but they never treated me the way they did Camille. And The Spine hasn't said anything about being there. To be honest, I don't think he was awake for much of it." 

"Was her time there better than yours? Why would she want to go back?" 

"Don't get me wrong, anything there is terrible, but in comparison, hers was a little better than mine. But if she were to go back, it would get infinitely worse, based on my experience." 

"I'm worried about her." 

"I can keep an eye on her, if you want. Y'know, make sure she doesn't do anything stupid." 

"That would be awesome." 

"Did she already do something stupid?" I glanced down at the apple in his hand. 

"Basically told me I should kill myself and gave me this apple, which is what I used last time I attempted, but it's nothing." 

"That's not nothing." 

"No, really, it's okay. Bold of her to assume I'd try the same thing twice." 

I shook my head. "Please don't talk like that. It's mean." 

"I think I'll live. I like being alive, for the time being." He smiled and took a bite out of his apple. 

"Are you okay?" 

"Yeah, I'm good. I'm out of quarantine, I got to see Chelsea before I came out here, GG's been calm, Spine is gonna be okay, and I'm eating food. What more could a guy ask for?" 

-

I found Camille in her room reading a book. I took it out of her hand, closing it around my finger between the pages it was opened to. “Why the hell would you say that to David? Are you out of your mind?” 

Camille smirked. “You’re cute when you’re mad.” 

“Well, I’m about to get really fucking adorable.” 

She shrugged. “Maybe I am out of my mind. Who knows?” She held her hand out toward her book. “Can I have it back now?” 

I thought for a moment. “When you apologize, I’ll give it back.” 

Her eyebrow raised. “And if I don’t?” 

“Then you can get used to sleeping alone again.” 

Camille’s face hardened with determination. “So you’re just gonna leave?” 

I nodded. 

“You’re bluffing.” 

I shook my head. 

“Say you’ll leave if I don’t apologize to David.” She stood up and stood closer to me than necessary. “Say it.” 

“I’ll leave if you don’t apologize to David.” 

“Then leave.” 

So I turned and left. I went to the HoW and dug through the wires to get to The Spine, who was still curled up in his chair, rocking gently. “Hey, The Spine.” I sat on the arm of the chair. He stretched his arm out toward me, and I slid into the crevice the curve of his body made in the seat. He set his head on my chest, and I wrapped my arms around his shoulders. “I have to leave soon,” I whispered to him. He tightened his hold on my ribs. 

“Please don’t leave.” 

“I have to, buddy.” 

“No.” Liquid soaked through my shirt. I frowned. 

“Okay, I’m not leaving. I’m staying here.” I ran my hand over his head. “I’m gonna have to start sleeping in here again, though.”   
“In this part or the back room?” 

“Probably the back room.” 

“Would you mind staying back here? It gets lonely at night.” He wiped his face off. 

“Of course.” 

“Thank you.” 

-

Chelsea drew in a deep breath as David crawled in bed. He wrapped his arm around her waist but kept a decent amount of space between their bodies. She sighed as she rolled over, nearly closing the distance between them. “What is it?” 

He lifted his head. “What?” 

“You only half-cuddle when something’s on your mind.” 

“Oh, I have a tell. That’s nice to know.” 

“What is it?” 

“I don’t know. Just thinking about stuff.” 

“Like what?” 

“Like if I died or something. Not like suicidal thoughts this time. Just what would happen if I did.” Judging by David’s expression, Chelsea’s was definitely some form of frightened. “Y’know what? Forget it. I’m gonna go see what Bunny’s up to.” He started to get out of bed, and Chelsea took his hand. 

“No, it’s okay. I’m just… not sure what to do with that.” 

“I don’t, either.” He took her hand. “So lock it up and never think about it again? I like that plan. We can throw it in that corner of the HoW not even Spine will go into.” 

“You should address it at some point, but Scary Corner works for right now.” She ran her fingers through David’s hair. “I love you.”

David smiled. “I love you.” 

“Are you ready for bed?” 

He shook his head. “I’ve been sleeping way too much this week.” 

“I love you, but I wanna sleep.” She wrapped her leg around his hip. “I’ve gotta give you the injection before I can sleep.” 

“I can give it to myself.” His hand twitched in hers. 

“We both know you can’t. You’re already twitching.” 

“I can do it.” 

“David, please.” 

“I can do it, I swear.” He squeezed her hand. 

“You’re so very stubborn.” 

“You’re also very stubborn.” 

“Please?” 

“I can’t,” he whispered. 

“Why not?” 

“If I go to sleep, then you’ll go to sleep, and I’ll be alone and I can’t be alone, please.” 

Chelsea let go of David’s hand and held his face. She kissed his forehead. “Are you going to be a danger to yourself if I leave for a few minutes?” 

“Please don’t leave.” He grabbed her arms. 

"Do you wanna come with me? I'm just gonna go make some tea."

“I like tea,” he mumbled. 

“You do.” She kissed him then sat up. “You coming?” 

-

Rabbit frowned as Clarke glared at Camille when she touched their shoulder. They mumbled something, and she drew her hand away. They continued eating. When they looked up at her, she signed “everything okay?” to them. They shrugged. 

“Clarke, how do you manage to piss off everyone you meet?” Steve asked, his voice surprisingly free of any judgement. 

“Strict moral code,” they muttered then shoved a forkful of eggs into their mouth. 

“That’s it? Just morals?” 

Clarke set their fork down and looked up at Steve. “I don’t deliberately piss people off, Steve. Frankly, I don’t know how you can, in good conscience, do it so often.” 

“Clarke, that’s enough,” Camille whispered. 

“I’m not talking to you.” Clarke went back to eating. When they were done, they rinsed their plate in the sink and left the room. 

“Camille, what the hell did you do?” Steve sat down in his place. 

“Basically told David he should try to kill himself again.” 

David looked up at the mention of his name then returned his focus to his food. Chelsea glared up at her. David moved his hand to cover hers. 

The room went dead. Rabbit had never expected Camille of all people to say something so hurtful. Bunny had gone rigid. “Why aren’t you more upset?” Camille asked. “David?” He looked up again then back down at his plate. “Chelsea?” She shrugged. Rabbit frowned. Was there something going on no one told her about? 

Michael and Steve left together, and Clue looked down at her lap. Rabbit went to stand beside her. Camille stared at David and Chelsea. Bunny cleared her throat but said nothing. David chuckled as he got up and rinsed his plate in the sink. He put his and Clarke’s plates in the dishwasher. “New guy’s coming later today,” he announced. “Bryan.” 

“Why are you telling us this now?” Camille asked. 

“I just remembered it.” He washed his hands. “Rabbit, it’s your maintenance day, right?” 

Rabbit nodded. He motioned for her to follow him, and she did. “Wh-what was that?” she asked him as they went down the hall. 

“We’re ignoring Camille’s attempts to piss us off. It’s for her own good, believe me.” 

“Why?” 

He opened the curtain to one of the maintenance rooms for her and followed her into the room. “She’s not doing very well.” 

“What’s wrong-wrong with her?” 

“Nothing’s wrong with her, but she’s started to have difficulties with being back here.” 

“B-b-but she was only gone f-four days.” Rabbit sat in the reinforced robot chair. 

As David started getting tools out, he said: “Which is twice as long as she should’ve been gone, according to Clarke. She won’t talk about it, but it’s pretty bad, from what I’ve seen.” 

“From what y-you’ve seen?” 

“I don’t think she’d want me to talk about it, but it was bad.” David took Rabbit’s hat off and moved her hair onto one of her shoulders. “I’m unzipping now.” 

“Okay.” 

David unzipped the back of her dress and moved the fabric to expose her back panel. He opened it. “There’s nothing wrong here.” 

“Zer0 and I took turns doing main-maintenance on each other for the past few weeks while you and the other huma-mans were sick and missing.” 

David frowned. “I guess we didn’t notice anything was wrong. I’m sorry.” 

“No-nothing was wron-ng with us. Just general maintenance.”   
David closed the panel and zipped Rabbit’s dress. “Any issues?” 

“Nothing new.” 

“Are your eyes okay?” 

She nodded. 

“Are you sure?” 

“They’ll be fine until The Spine gets better.” 

“Rabbit…” 

“I’ll be fine.” 

“At least let me look at them.” He went around her to look at her face. Her eyes dimmed then went out. “Are you still awake?” 

“Did they go out again?” 

“Yeah. How long have they been doing this?” 

“A few hours.” 

He frowned. “And you didn’t say anything?” 

“The Spine is in worse shape. Camille couldn’t fix everything when he first got back.” She folded her hands in her lap. “He really needs help.” 

“Has he told you anything?” 

“So much. It’s horrible, so horrible.” 

“I can check up on him when I do maintenance on him. I’ll probably do it after we’re done here.” David crouched and moved her hair back to its original place. “If you’re okay with that.” 

“Would you, please?” Her eyes lit up again. 

David smiled. “Of course. Are we done here?” 

Rabbit nodded. “Could you also get someone to check on Zer0?” 

“Chelsea can do that.” David stood and took Rabbit’s hand as she stood. 

“Did you get taller?” 

“Different shoes.” He straightened his uniform. “I forgot how uncomfortable these are.” He pulled at his collar. 

“Have you talked to Peter about it?” 

He shrugged. “No biggie.” He stretched. “I’m gonna go find Spine.”   
“He’s in the HoW.” 

“Thanks.” 

David went into the HoW and made sure the door closed quietly. “Spine?” he called quietly. “Are you up, buddy?” 

“I’m awake,” he mumbled. “What’re you doing in here?” 

“Maintenance on you. I missed a lot between taking care of Chelsea then getting sick.” 

“I understand. I’m running perfectly fine.” 

“That’s not what Rabbit told me.” 

“She… hasn’t been herself lately.” 

“Spine, I just checked on her. There’s nothing wrong with her. She asked me to check on you.” 

“... Not right now.” 

“Then when?” 

“I don’t know. Just not now.” 

David sighed. “It’s in my job description to take care of you.” He went over to the cart with the tools. “I will climb up into those wires if you don’t come out in the next thirty seconds.” 

The Spine slid out on a band of wires. “I need my body.” 

David went over to him and held his arm out. The Spine slithered onto his shoulder. “She told me you’re in bad shape. Care to tell me what kind of bad shape you’re in?” He took his head to his body in the back room. 

“Nothing’s wrong. I’m okay.” 

“I’m gonna know what it is you’re hiding one way or another, so you might as well tell me.” 

“... I wasn’t put back together correctly. I moved some stuff around, but I can’t completely fix it on my own.” 

“That’s it?” 

“Nothing is in the right place. My right eye is in the left socket, vice versa. My hands were backward when I first got here.” He stood and picked his hat up from the space beside where he was sitting. “My teeth were upside down. The top row was on the bottom.” He went out into the main room and sat on the reinforced chair by the workbench. “My shoulders still aren’t working as well as they could be, and there’s something sticky all over everything in my interior.” 

“Jesus, that’s a lot. Any more?” 

“I think some of the Blue Matter in my core is missing.” 

“I can’t fix that now, but I’ll see if we have extra.” David glanced at The Spine’s face. “Or I can look now, if you’re okay with waiting.” 

“I’m okay with that.” He twiddled his thumbs, and his eyes flickered. 

“Are you sure?” 

He nodded, and his neck twitched. 

“Is there something you’re not telling me?” 

“When I was… there, they put something into my vocal processing code so I experience minor malfunctions when I tell a lie.” He looked down. “I lied to them too often the first day.” 

“That’s horrible.” He knelt down and took The Spine’s hands. “Have you talked to anyone?” 

“Only Rabbit, but she doesn’t know about even half of it.” He squeezed his hands. “I don’t want anyone to worry about me.”   
“Buddy, we’re already worried.” 

He shook his head. “I’ll be okay.” His hand twitched. “Sorry.” 

“We want to help you. I want to help you.” David sighed. “But you’ve gotta stop lying.” 

“I’m okay, really.” His leg jerked to the side. “I’m not lyi-” His neck bent unnaturally, sending his hat cascading to the floor. David caught it before it landed and set it on his own head so both of his hands were free. 

“Spine, please. You’re only hurting yourself.” David grabbed his shoulders. 

“I’m okay,” he promised. He released steam from every vent in his body, and David had to lean back to avoid being scorched. 

“Spine-” David stood and went around The Spine’s chair. “You’re gonna run out of water if you keep doing this.” 

“I-” The Spine hunched over in his chair and fell over onto the floor. David rushed to help him sit up. The Spine leaned on him, putting his whole weight on him. “I’m so-s-er-sorry.” He tried to push himself away, but David wrapped his arms around his shoulders, not tight enough to pin him down but enough to keep him from hurting himself. 

“It’s okay, buddy. You’re just malfunctioning.” He ran his hand over The Spine’s head. “I know it’s scary. It’s gonna be over soon.” The Spine’s legs twitched. “I know this doesn’t help you, but breathe. I need you to breathe.” He lifted his hand when something wet soaked through The Spine’s shirt. David felt his vest on the front and back and frowned. “Spine, you’re leaking.” He held him up as well as he could with one arm and unbuttoned the buttons of his vest and shirt enough to get his front maintenance panel open. “Buddy, how long has your boiler been leaking like this?” The Spine didn’t answer as he was still malfunctioning. “Right. I’ll ask later.” He got up and dragged The Spine by his armpits to lean against the workbench. 

David filled a pitcher with water in the back room bathroom and poured it straight into The Spine’s boiler, and the water instantly turned to steam and floated out of his chest. David frowned and checked his emergency reserve. Little to no water was left in it, and it seemed to be the only thing fueling him. David filled that, and it stayed there. The Spine stilled. His eyes closed, his limbs went limp. David checked everything else in his chassis. When he was done, he closed the panel and buttoned his shirt and vest. The Spine still hadn’t moved. David moved beside him and leaned against the bench. 

“I know you’re tired, buddy, but you’re on the floor. You wouldn’t stand for this.” He took The Spine’s hand. “Why don’t we get up, and I’ll hang out with you in the library.” 

The Spine remained still. 

David chuckled. “Alright, buddy.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: alcohol at the beginning of the chapter, suicide/suicidal thoughts (mentioned)

David went into the kitchen to find Camille pouring alcohol into a coffee cup. “Hey, you okay?”   
“Oh, yeah, I’m great.” She smiled at him as she set the bottle down. She quickly closed it. “Glad to see you’re not dead.”   
“Yeah, me too. Not being dead is fantastic.” He put the bottle in the freezer. “Just booze?”   
“There’s coffee in this. A little, at least.”   
“Less than half?” He sat on the counter.   
“About a third.”   
“Are you sure you’re okay?”   
“Yeah, I’m good.” She leaned against the counter. “Just tired.”   
“So you’re adjusting well again?”   
“I’ve been doing great here. Why?”   
“Because you never drink during the day.”   
“Are you interrogating me now?”   
“Only if you think this is an interrogation.”   
She sighed. “I miss being there. Is that bad?”   
“Why?”   
“I don’t know. They treated me well, for the most part, I think.”   
“For the most part?”   
“It’s complicated. They really liked me, though.” She drank from her mug and set it down. “I kinda wanna go back.”   
David shook his head. “Don’t say something like that. Not where people can hear.”   
“Why not? Maybe they’re still listening.”   
“Camille, no. Don’t do this, please.”   
“What’re you gonna do, try to kill yourself again?”   
David froze. “Why would you say that?”   
“You know it’s never worked before. You do it so often. We’re both trying to escape something, right? So if I go, you just try again.” She grabbed an apple out of the fruit bowl they kept out. “Maybe this time, it’ll work.”   
“Low blow, Camille. Low blow.” David took the apple and bit into it as he left the kitchen.   
-  
I looked up from my book at David passing the doorway. I set it down and ran to him. “David!” I hugged him tight when he turned around. He didn’t hesitate to return the hug.   
“Miss me?”   
“Of course. They told me you were still contagious."   
"No, I'm well enough to be around people again." He hugged me tighter. "Hey, can I ask you a question?"   
"Privately?"   
"Preferably."   
I led David to the library and into the back corner with the easy books. "Go ahead."   
"When you came back from… that place, did you ever wanna go back?"   
"No, I think I'd sooner hang myself than go back. Why?"   
"I talked to Camille just now, and she said she misses it there, that she wants to go back."   
"From what she told me, her experience was very different from mine. I mean, each time I was there was different from the last, but they never treated me the way they did Camille. And The Spine hasn't said anything about being there. To be honest, I don't think he was awake for much of it."   
"Was her time there better than yours? Why would she want to go back?"   
"Don't get me wrong, anything there is terrible, but in comparison, hers was a little better than mine. But if she were to go back, it would get infinitely worse, based on my experience."   
"I'm worried about her."   
"I can keep an eye on her, if you want. Y'know, make sure she doesn't do anything stupid."   
"That would be awesome."   
"Did she already do something stupid?" I glanced down at the apple in his hand.   
"Basically told me I should kill myself and gave me this apple, which is what I used last time I attempted, but it's nothing."   
"That's not nothing."   
"No, really, it's okay. Bold of her to assume I'd try the same thing twice."   
I shook my head. "Please don't talk like that. It's mean."   
"I think I'll live. I like being alive, for the time being." He smiled and took a bite out of his apple.   
"Are you okay?"   
"Yeah, I'm good. I'm out of quarantine, I got to see Chelsea before I came out here, GG's been calm, Spine is gonna be okay, and I'm eating food. What more could a guy ask for?"   
-  
I found Camille in her room reading a book. I took it out of her hand, closing it around my finger between the pages it was opened to. “Why the hell would you say that to David? Are you out of your mind?”   
Camille smirked. “You’re cute when you’re mad.”   
“Well, I’m about to get really fucking adorable.”   
She shrugged. “Maybe I am out of my mind. Who knows?” She held her hand out toward her book. “Can I have it back now?”   
I thought for a moment. “When you apologize, I’ll give it back.”   
Her eyebrow raised. “And if I don’t?”   
“Then you can get used to sleeping alone again.”   
Camille’s face hardened with determination. “So you’re just gonna leave?”   
I nodded.   
“You’re bluffing.”   
I shook my head.   
“Say you’ll leave if I don’t apologize to David.” She stood up and stood closer to me than necessary. “Say it.”   
“I’ll leave if you don’t apologize to David.”   
“Then leave.”   
So I turned and left. I went to the HoW and dug through the wires to get to The Spine, who was still curled up in his chair, rocking gently. “Hey, The Spine.” I sat on the arm of the chair. He stretched his arm out toward me, and I slid into the crevice the curve of his body made in the seat. He set his head on my chest, and I wrapped my arms around his shoulders.   
“I have to leave soon,” I whispered to him. He tightened his hold on my ribs.   
“Please don’t leave.”   
“I have to, buddy.”   
“No.” Liquid soaked through my shirt. I frowned.   
“Okay, I’m not leaving. I’m staying here.” I ran my hand over his head. “I’m gonna have to start sleeping in here again, though.”   
“In this part or the back room?”   
“Probably the back room.”   
“Would you mind staying back here? It gets lonely at night.” He wiped his face off.   
“Of course.”   
“Thank you.”   
-  
Chelsea drew in a deep breath as David crawled in bed. He wrapped his arm around her waist but kept a decent amount of space between their bodies. She sighed as she rolled over, nearly closing the distance between them. “What is it?”   
He lifted his head. “What?”   
“You only half-cuddle when something’s on your mind.”   
“Oh, I have a tell. That’s nice to know.”   
“What is it?”   
“I don’t know. Just thinking about stuff.”   
“Like what?”   
“Like if I died or something. Not like suicidal thoughts this time. Just what would happen if I did.” Judging by David’s expression, Chelsea’s was definitely some form of frightened. “Y’know what? Forget it. I’m gonna go see what Bunny’s up to.” He started to get out of bed, and Chelsea took his hand.   
“No, it’s okay. I’m just… not sure what to do with that.”   
“I don’t, either.” He took her hand. “So lock it up and never think about it again? I like that plan. We can throw it in that corner of the HoW not even Spine will go into.”   
“You should address it at some point, but Scary Corner works for right now.” She ran her fingers through David’s hair. “I love you.”   
David smiled. “I love you.”   
“Are you ready for bed?”   
He shook his head. “I’ve been sleeping way too much this week.”   
“I love you, but I wanna sleep.” She wrapped her leg around his hip. “I’ve gotta give you the injection before I can sleep.”   
“I can give it to myself.” His hand twitched in hers.   
“We both know you can’t. You’re already twitching.”   
“I can do it.”   
“David, please.”   
“I can do it, I swear.” He squeezed her hand.   
“You’re so very stubborn.”   
“You’re also very stubborn.”   
“Please?”   
“I can’t,” he whispered.   
“Why not?”   
“If I go to sleep, then you’ll go to sleep, and I’ll be alone and I can’t be alone, please.”   
Chelsea let go of David’s hand and held his face. She kissed his forehead. “Are you going to be a danger to yourself if I leave for a few minutes?”   
“Please don’t leave.” He grabbed her arms.   
"Do you wanna come with me? I'm just gonna go make some tea."   
“I like tea,” he mumbled.   
“You do.” She kissed him then sat up. “You coming?”   
-  
Rabbit frowned as Clarke glared at Camille when she touched their shoulder. They mumbled something, and she drew her hand away. They continued eating. When they looked up at her, she signed “everything okay?” to them. They shrugged.   
“Clarke, how do you manage to piss off everyone you meet?” Steve asked, his voice surprisingly free of any judgement.   
“Strict moral code,” they muttered then shoved a forkful of eggs into their mouth.   
“That’s it? Just morals?”   
Clarke set their fork down and looked up at Steve. “I don’t deliberately piss people off, Steve. Frankly, I don’t know how you can, in good conscience, do it so often.”   
“Clarke, that’s enough,” Camille whispered.   
“I’m not talking to you.” Clarke went back to eating. When they were done, they rinsed their plate in the sink and left the room.   
“Camille, what the hell did you do?” Steve sat down in his place.   
“Basically told David he should try to kill himself again.”   
David looked up at the mention of his name then returned his focus to his food. Chelsea glared up at her. David moved his hand to cover hers.   
The room went dead. Rabbit had never expected Camille of all people to say something so hurtful. Bunny had gone rigid. “Why aren’t you more upset?” Camille asked. “David?” He looked up again then back down at his plate. “Chelsea?” She shrugged. Rabbit frowned. Was there something going on no one told her about?   
Michael and Steve left together, and Clue looked down at her lap. Rabbit went to stand beside her. Camille stared at David and Chelsea. Bunny cleared her throat but said nothing. David chuckled as he got up and rinsed his plate in the sink. He put his and Clarke’s plates in the dishwasher. “New guy’s coming later today,” he announced. “Bryan.”   
“Why are you telling us this now?” Camille asked.   
“I just remembered it.” He washed his hands. “Rabbit, it’s your maintenance day, right?”   
Rabbit nodded. He motioned for her to follow him, and she did. “Wh-what was that?” she asked him as they went down the hall.   
“We’re ignoring Camille’s attempts to piss us off. It’s for her own good, believe me.”   
“Why?”   
He opened the curtain to one of the maintenance rooms for her and followed her into the room. “She’s not doing very well.”   
“What’s wrong-wrong with her?”   
“Nothing’s wrong with her, but she’s started to have difficulties with being back here.”   
“B-b-but she was only gone f-four days.” Rabbit sat in the reinforced robot chair.   
As David started getting tools out, he said: “Which is twice as long as she should’ve been gone, according to Clarke. She won’t talk about it, but it’s pretty bad, from what I’ve seen.”   
“From what y-you’ve seen?”   
“I don’t think she’d want me to talk about it, but it was bad.” David took Rabbit’s hat off and moved her hair onto one of her shoulders. “I’m unzipping now.”   
“Okay.”   
David unzipped the back of her dress and moved the fabric to expose her back panel. He opened it. “There’s nothing wrong here.”   
“Zer0 and I took turns doing main-maintenance on each other for the past few weeks while you and the other huma-mans were sick and missing.”   
David frowned. “I guess we didn’t notice anything was wrong. I’m sorry.”   
“No-nothing was wron-ng with us. Just general maintenance.”   
David closed the panel and zipped Rabbit’s dress. “Any issues?”   
“Nothing new.”   
“Are your eyes okay?”   
She shook her head.   
“Are you sure?”   
“They’ll be fine until The Spine gets better.”   
“Rabbit…”   
“I’ll be fine.”   
“At least let me look at them.” He went around her to look at her face. Her eyes dimmed then went out. “Are you still awake?”   
“Did they go out again?”   
“Yeah. How long have they been doing this?”   
“A few hours.”   
He frowned. “And you didn’t say anything?”   
“The Spine is in worse shape. Camille couldn’t fix everything when he first got back.” She folded her hands in her lap. “He really needs help.”   
“Has he told you anything?”   
“So much. It’s horrible, so horrible.”   
“I can check up on him when I do maintenance on him. I’ll probably do it after we’re done here.” David crouched and moved her hair back to its original place. “If you’re okay with that.”   
“Would you, please?” Her eyes lit up again.   
David smiled. “Of course. Are we done here?”   
Rabbit nodded. “Could you also get someone to check on Zer0?”   
“Chelsea can do that.” David stood and took Rabbit’s hand as she stood.   
“Did you get taller?”   
“Different shoes.” He straightened his uniform. “I forgot how uncomfortable these are.” He pulled at his collar.   
“Have you talked to Peter about it?”   
He shrugged. “No biggie.” He stretched. “I’m gonna go find Spine.”   
“He’s in the HoW.”   
“Thanks.”   
David went into the HoW and made sure the door closed quietly. “Spine?” he called quietly. “Are you up, buddy?”   
“I’m awake,” he mumbled. “What’re you doing in here?”   
“Maintenance on you. I missed a lot between taking care of Chelsea then getting sick.”   
“I understand. I’m running perfectly fine.”   
“That’s not what Rabbit told me.”   
“She… hasn’t been herself lately.”   
“Spine, I just checked on her. There’s nothing wrong with her. She asked me to check on you.”   
“... Not right now.”   
“Then when?”   
“I don’t know. Just not now.”   
David sighed. “It’s in my job description to take care of you.” He went over to the cart with the tools. “I will climb up into those wires if you don’t come out in the next thirty seconds.”   
The Spine slid out on a band of wires. “I need my body.”   
David went over to him and held his arm out. The Spine slithered onto his shoulder. “She told me you’re in bad shape. Care to tell me what kind of bad shape you’re in?” He took his head to his body in the back room.   
“Nothing’s wrong. I’m okay.”   
“I’m gonna know what it is you’re hiding one way or another, so you might as well tell me.”   
“... I wasn’t put back together correctly. I moved some stuff around, but I can’t completely fix it on my own.”   
“That’s it?”   
“Nothing is in the right place. My right eye is in the left socket, vice versa. My hands were backward when I first got here.” He stood and picked his hat up from the space beside where he was sitting. “My teeth were upside down. The top row was on the bottom.” He went out into the main room and sat on the reinforced chair by the workbench. “My shoulders still aren’t working as well as they could be, and there’s something sticky all over everything in my interior.”   
“Jesus, that’s a lot. Any more?”   
“I think some of the Blue Matter in my core is missing.”   
“I can’t fix that now, but I’ll see if we have extra.” David glanced at The Spine’s face. “Or I can look now, if you’re okay with waiting.”   
“I’m okay with that.” He twiddled his thumbs, and his eyes flickered.   
“Are you sure?”   
He nodded, and his neck twitched.   
“Is there something you’re not telling me?”   
“When I was… there, they put something into my vocal processing code so I experience minor malfunctions when I tell a lie.” He looked down. “I lied to them too often the first day.”   
“That’s horrible.” He knelt down and took The Spine’s hands. “Have you talked to anyone?”   
“Only Rabbit, but she doesn’t know about even half of it.” He squeezed his hands. “I don’t want anyone to worry about me.”   
“Buddy, we’re already worried.”   
He shook his head. “I’ll be okay.” His hand twitched. “Sorry.”   
“We want to help you. I want to help you.” David sighed. “But you’ve gotta stop lying.”   
“I’m okay, really.” His leg jerked to the side. “I’m not lyi-” His neck bent unnaturally, sending his hat cascading to the floor. David caught it before it landed and set it on his own head so both of his hands were free.   
“Spine, please. You’re only hurting yourself.” David grabbed his shoulders.   
“I’m okay,” he promised. He released steam from every vent in his body, and David had to lean back to avoid being scorched.   
“Spine-” David stood and went around The Spine’s chair. “You’re gonna run out of water if you keep doing this.”   
“I-” The Spine hunched over in his chair and fell over onto the floor. David rushed to help him sit up. The Spine leaned on him, putting his whole weight on him. “I’m so-s-er-sorry.” He tried to push himself away, but David wrapped his arms around his shoulders, not tight enough to pin him down but enough to keep him from hurting himself.   
“It’s okay, buddy. You’re just malfunctioning.” He ran his hand over The Spine’s head. “I know it’s scary. It’s gonna be over soon.” The Spine’s legs twitched. “I know this doesn’t help you, but breathe. I need you to breathe.” He lifted his hand when something wet soaked through The Spine’s shirt. David felt his vest on the front and back and frowned. “Spine, you’re leaking.” He held him up as well as he could with one arm and unbuttoned the buttons of his vest and shirt enough to get his front maintenance panel open. “Buddy, how long has your boiler been leaking like this?” The Spine didn’t answer as he was still malfunctioning. “Right. I’ll ask later.” He got up and dragged The Spine by his armpits to lean against the workbench.   
David filled a pitcher with water in the back room bathroom and poured it straight into The Spine’s boiler, and the water instantly turned to steam and floated out of his chest. David frowned and checked his emergency reserve. Little to no water was left in it, and it seemed to be the only thing fueling him. David filled that, and it stayed there. The Spine stilled. His eyes closed, his limbs went limp. David checked everything else in his chassis. When he was done, he closed the panel and buttoned his shirt and vest. The Spine still hadn’t moved. David moved beside him and leaned against the bench.   
“I know you’re tired, buddy, but you’re on the floor. You wouldn’t stand for this.” He took The Spine’s hand. “Why don’t we get up, and I’ll hang out with you in the library.”   
The Spine remained still.   
David chuckled. “Alright, buddy.”


	8. Chapter 8

Camille knocked on her bedroom door. “Clarke? Are you in here?” she asked quietly. “We need to talk.” 

Clarke opened the curtain. “Unless you’re about to tell me you apologized to David, I’m not interested in anything you have to say.” They slid past her and went down the hall. 

Camille sighed and went into her room to take an incredibly careful shower. When she got out, she dried her hair as well as she could. Partially dressed, she sat on her bed with a book and started reading. 

Chelsea came into the room and sat on her chair. “Why would you say something like that?” 

“To David? I had alcohol.” 

“That doesn’t warrant saying something that serious to David, of all people.” 

“He shouldn’t get special treatment.” 

“It’s not- oh my God, Camille. You cannot be this stupid.” 

“I’m not stupid.” 

“Then stop… this. Whatever this is. You’re only driving the people in the manor away from you.” 

“Good.” 

Chelsea sighed. “Are you trying to get us to hate you?” 

“I thought my intentions were clear.” 

“Why?” 

“So you would send me back. I was only there a couple days. And they really liked me.” 

Chelsea shook her head. “We’d never send you back, even if we knew how. There’s no way we’re gonna let you bullshit your way back there. We can already tell whatever happened to you wasn’t good, and we’re not gonna make you go through it again.” 

“They treated me well. It wasn’t bad.” 

“Camille, they cut into your back. That’s not good, exactly, don’t you think?” 

“I wasn’t doing well enough.” 

“That doesn’t matter. You didn’t deserve that. Any of that. Please-” Chelsea sat forward with her elbows on her knees- “tell me you know that.” 

“I know that.” 

“Do you mean that?” 

Camille was silent. 

“Do you?” 

“Can you let me read, please?” 

Chelsea sighed. “Eat something before you go to bed.” She got up and left. 

-

I went into the library to find The Spine sleeping on the floor with his back against the workbench. I sat beside him and set my head on his shoulder. He lifted his hand slightly, and I held it in my lap. 

“The Spine?” I asked quietly. “Are you awake?” The Spine remained still. I smiled sadly and squeezed his hand. He slumped to the side, and his torso fell into my lap. I moved my arm out from under him with some difficulty and wrapped it around his shoulder so he didn’t fall anymore. I took my wings out and covered him with them. 

The curtain opened, and Camille peeked past it. “David?” 

“It’s me,” I mumbled. 

“Do you know where David is?” 

I shook my head. “Try his room.” 

“Thanks, birdie.” She closed the curtain. 

-

Camille found David in the back of the HoW, fidgeting with his goggles. “Hey,” she said. 

David, without looking up, repeated the greeting. 

“Can I sit?” 

“Sure.” He moved his arms so Camille didn’t sit on them when she crawled into his lap and somewhat wrapped his arms around her to continue fidgeting. “What do you want?” 

“To apologize. I shouldn't have said that to you.” 

“It’s okay. I’m over it.” 

“Are you sure?” 

“Yeah, I’m sure.” 

Camille set her head on David’s shoulder. “Thanks.” 

“Mhmm.” He set his goggles down in Camille’s lap and started braiding a strand of her hair. “Have you been washing your hair at all this week?” 

Camille shook her head. “I can’t reach it.” 

“I can help you, if you want.” 

“No, it’s okay. I think I would rather repeatedly stub my toe than let someone else touch my hair right now.” David stopped braiding. “That’s fine.” He continued. “Have you seen Chelsea recently?” 

“Working, no doubt. Y’know… doing her job.” 

“I haven’t done that in a while.” 

“And you won’t for the next few weeks. Stitches take a while, especially for you.” 

Camille sighed. “Weeks? Kill me now.” 

David chuckled. “I’m afraid I can’t do that.” 

"That's a shame." She crossed her legs and stretched them over the arm of the recliner. David adjusted so his arm wasn’t touching her stitches. “It doesn’t hurt as much anymore.” 

“That’s good,” he breathed as he rested his head on top of hers. 

“Are you going to sleep?” 

“Maybe.” 

Camille shifted her hips so she was leaning into David’s shoulder. He moved his arm up to her shoulders and kissed the top of her head before going back to using it as a pillow. “Don’t kill yourself.” 

David smiled. “I wasn’t planning on it.” 

\- 

The Spine went to the back of the wires, and when he saw David and Camille sleeping in his recliner, he smiled and shook his head as he picked his book up off the stack and sat on the floor to read. 

-

Clue woke up on Michael’s floor with a blanket wrapped around her. She sat up and looked around as she stretched. No one else was in the room, and judging by the cold temperature of the room, no one was in the shower. Clue stood and folded the blanket. She set it on Michael’s poorly made bed and went into the bathroom. She took out a towel from under the sink and turned the shower on. 

-

David woke up to The Spine tapping his shoulder. “Go take your meds,” he whispered. “Your alarm went off two minutes ago.” The Spine looked down at Camille, who was still sleeping. “I can take her.” He knelt down and carefully gathered her in his arms. She sucked in a breath, and her eyes barely opened. David got up slowly, stumbling slightly. The Spine sat in his place and started to coax Camille back to sleep. David whispered “goodnight” and left the HoW. 

David went into Chelsea’s room, and she was sitting on her bed with a cup of water in one hand and a smaller cup of pills in the other. “Hey,” David mumbled. 

“Where have you been?” Chelsea demanded softly. 

“Took a nap in the back of the wires. I’m here and not dead now.” 

She sighed and held the cups out toward him. David took the pills and drank half of the water then offered it to Chelsea. She took it and set it on the nightstand. David took his shirt off and tossed it in Chelsea’s laundry basket on the way to the bathroom. “What’s around your neck?” Chelsea asked. 

David looked down at himself. “Oh, yeah. While I was going through my desk for those side effect lists I was talking about the other day, I found our rings and Spine’s old dog tag chains he let me have.” 

“Both of them?” 

David reached in his pants pocket and pulled out the other necklace he’d made. He went back and set it in Chelsea’s outstretched hand. She looked at it and smiled. David started to go back to the bathroom. “I can’t believe you still have these.” 

“Me neither.” He looked over his shoulder. “Are you coming?” 

“Yeah, give me a second.” She sniffled. David went back again and knelt in front of her. He took the ring from her and slid it onto her finger. She smiled wider and leaned down to kiss him. “Can the shower wait?” 

“I’ll fall asleep before then.” 

Chelsea sighed and kissed him again. “Alright, let’s go.” 

-

Bryan looked around at the big room he’d entered upon going into the manor. Was he in the right place? The room he was in looked abandoned. “Hello?” he yelled at one of the walls. 

Somewhere in an unseen part of the building, someone yelled "new guy's here!" Bryan braced himself for the worst. One man with white skin and blue hair emerged and smiled at him. "Bryan, right?" They shook hands, and Bryan nodded.. "I'm David. Michael's a little busy, so you get me for orientation." 

"What's he doing?" 

"No clue." He chuckled. "He didn't say. I'll take you to your room." David motioned for Bryan to follow. 

"So I don't have to find an apartment?" 

"Of course not. We maintain a more family-like environment instead of just a job. Rabbit, one of the automatons, takes in people sometimes if they need a place to stay or something. Two of them are here now." 

"Do they stay forever?" 

David shook his head. "Clue comes back to visit from time to time, but she has her own home. Clarke, as far as I know, has no intention of leaving. By the way, Vlarke has wings, so you don't freak out later."

"I certainly didn't expect anything normal when I applied for this job." 

"They're perfectly normal aside from that. Anyway, we have our own rooms, and we take turns cooking meals. I think breakfast in the morning is my sister and I's shift." 

"Blood sister?" 

David nodded. "We're twins." 

"Are you the only siblings here?" 

"There's another set of sisters. Chelsea, my wife, and Camille." 

"You're not wearing a ring." 

"We can't wear rings for safety reasons, so we have our rings on chains around our necks." 

"Does everyone turn white?" 

"We were all white before we came here, so I don't know if you will, but we all turned white and got the blue hair." David opened the curtain to a room and sighed. "GG, we told you he'd be coming soon." 

"And that's my fault?" came a screeching voice inside the room. Bryan looked over David's shoulder to see a small robot giraffe sitting on a pile of blankets. "I don't have hands, you know." 

"You said you would get Clarke to help you." 

"They're sleeping now." 

David sighed again and turned back to Bryan. "Sorry about the mess. GG's a mess." 

Bryan smiled and shook his head. "No worries. I'm gonna head to bed, if that's okay." 

"Of course. I do get a bonus for this, so we can finish tomorrow?" 

Bryan nodded and stifled a yawn. "Night, man." 

"Night." 

They shook hands again, and Bryan retired to his room. 

-

Camille opened the curtain to her room to find Clarke already asleep with the blanket wrapped loosely around their shoulders. She did her best to lie down on her own but ultimately ended up waking them up. “What’re you doing?” they groaned. 

“I didn’t wanna wake you up,” Camille whispered. 

“It’s okay.” They pulled her close and kissed her shoulder. “Goodnight.” 

“Goodnight.” 

-

David didn't show up to breakfast, which was odd because Chelsea looked more chipper than usual. "Where's David?" I asked. 

"He went to bed late. He's still sleeping." She twisted a new chain around her neck. 

Bunny smiled. "He finally gave you the necklace, huh?" 

"Yeah, last night." 

"What’s a necklace?” I asked quietly. 

Camille took her chain out from under her shirt. “This is a necklace.” 

“Where’d you get that one, Camille?” Chelsea asked. “I don’t think I’ve seen it before.” 

“Clarke gave it to me for my birthday.” Camille smiled proudly. 

“That’s gorgeous. You have good taste, Clarke.” 

“I made it,” I muttered into my coffee mug. “Like a century and a half ago.” 

“That’s really cool. How did you make it?” 

“I melted some cage bars that survived the old place burning.” 

“What place?” Bunny asked. 

“The place.” 

The room went quiet. I didn’t understand why. 

Camille squeezed my hand. “The new guy’s here now, right?” 

Chelsea nodded, swallowing her coffee. “Yeah, Bryan. David showed him around a little last night.” 

“A little?” 

“Bryan went to bed. They’re supposed to finish today.” 

Silence hung in the air for a while, then David trudged in with his hair sticking up in every direction and blue pillow marks on his face. He waved in the group’s general direction and filled a glass with water. He sat down beside Chelsea with it and bumped her shoulder with his. She bumped his back, and they both smiled. 

“Where’s Bryan?” Camille asked. David didn’t seen to understand her. His eyebrows creased; I could see how hard he was thinking. She let the question disappear from the conversation. 

“He’s probably still in his room,” Chelsea said. 

Just as she spoke, a man I’d never thought I’d see again walked in. He looked around the room with a small smile. “Hi, I’m Bryan.” I brought my wings in, fast enough to keep from being painful but slow enough to keep any attention away from them. We made eye contact, and I was pretty sure I passed out because suddenly everyone was staring at me and I was leaning on The Spine. 

I looked around. “Why is everyone looking at me?” 

“Are you okay?” 

I mumbled something about having to leave and rushed out of the room. 

-

David woke up to Clarke hiding under his blanket. He rolled over and ran his hand over their back. "Hey, buddy. What're you doing?" Clarke didn't answer. David lifted the blanket enough for their head to be exposed and frowned at their completely black eyes. He covered them again and wrapped an arm around their shoulders. "Have you eaten yet?" 

Clarke didn’t answer again. They wrapped their arm around David’s ribs and hid their face in his armpit. “I gotta get up. Just for a minute.” 

Clarke let go and went back to hiding under the blanket. David thought he heard them apologize under their breath but decided not to respond in case he was wrong. He got up and started to go the bathroom when: 

Chelsea knocked on the doorframe. “Clarke? You in here, buddy?” 

David opened the curtain and whispered: “Do you know what’s wrong with them?” 

She shook her head. “Bryan came in, and they just passed out then left. Are they in here?” 

“Yeah, they’re in the bed.” David stepped to the side, and Chelsea entered the room. She sat on the edge and set her hand on Clarke’s side. David quickly put pants on and left for the kitchen. 

Five heads turned when David walked in. Bunny smiled at him. Camille waved. Michael and Steve barely acknowledged him. Bryan gave him a small smile. He sat down in his place and thanked Michael as a plate was set in front of him. Steve handed him a fork. David thanked him and started eating. 

“How’d you sleep?” Bunny asked. 

“Like a baby.” 

They smiled at each other. “Love you,” Bunny mumbled. David returned the sentiment, and they pressed their foreheads together then went back to what they were doing. 

Camille stretched and winced. “Where’d Chelsea go?” 

“She’s with Clarke. They’ll be a minute.” 

“Is everything okay?” 

“It should be.” 

“Do you know what happened?” Bryan asked. 

“No idea.” 

“What’s that black spot on your shirt?” 

David looked down at the mark on his shirt. 

“Clarke cries black,” Camille mumbled. 

Bryan frowned. "Cries?" 

"We don't know what happened." 

His frown deepened. 

David and Bunny shuffled nervously in their seats. Bunny took David’s hand under the table and squeezed it. 

“Are you guys okay?” Camille asked. 

“Yeah, we’re okay,” David said, more short than he intended. “We have to work on Spine’s eyes in a couple hours.” 

The Spine visibly stiffened. David offered him a reassuring smile, but it didn’t seem to make anything less uncomfortable. He went to the sink to get a glass of water. Camille shifted away from Bryan. He looked apologetically at her. 

Chelsea came back, and Camille straightened her back. “So?” 

“They asked me to leave.” 

Camille got up and walked out the same hall Chelsea entered through. She came back shortly afterwards. "They'll be a couple hours, I think." 

"I think I've seen them before," Bryan mumbled. 

"Where?" 

"The last job I had. Really sketchy place." 

A look went around the table. The robots looked more solemn. 

"I wouldn't have taken it if I didn't need the money so badly. No one lasted more than a couple weeks.” He looked down at his food. “I don’t really like talking about it,” he muttered. 

The rest of the group went back to their breakfast and didn’t speak until David and Bunny took The Spine to a maintenance room. Rabbit was already waiting. 


	9. These Are Old Bones, I'm Simply Borrowing Them

David had to get to work but promised to return before seven. Chelsea didn't know what was happening at the time. She spent most of the day working on a loose pipe on Zer0. He gave her a bracelet he made from barbed wire. She could never wear it without any pain, but he seemed really excited about it so she did anyway. 

When Chelsea saw The Spine, he gave her a book from his corner of the HoW. Apparently, he knew she'd already read it, but evidence suggested she really liked it. Rabbit snuck up behind him and offered to fix Chelsea's new bracelet so it didn't hurt her. She disappeared with it for an hour then returned it with marshmallows over the spikes and a maniacal grin on her face. Chelsea rolled her eyes with a smile. Rabbit took the marshmallows off to reveal she'd filed the spikes down. She even refrained from eating said marshmallows. 

Bunny said she had a gift for Chelsea but wasn't finished with it. Camille was still asleep into the early hours of the afternoon. Clarke gave her a necklace they'd made. It had a small bottle with blue powder in it. They assured her it wasn't Blue Matter but didn't elaborate. 

Steve and Michael collectively got Chelsea a Poloroid camera. Steve blew it off as the equivalent of signing someone else's card. GG helped Chelsea make tea, which basically consisted of Chelsea making tea and GG making conversation. David was still missing. Chelsea could've sworn she saw him running outside. 

Chelsea got all her work done early and still had time before David was supposed to come back. She took a shower and dressed comfortably. She picked a book at random and curled up in her bed with it. 

David came in and wrapped his arms around her as he sat beside her. "You're glowing." He kissed her neck. 

"I took a shower." She turned her head and kissed him. "You, however, are absolutely covered in robot juice." 

He chuckled. "That I am. I was going to go take a shower, but you looked so huggable." 

Chelsea smiled. "You're very sweet." She closed her book and set her head on his shoulder. "I don't mind taking another shower," she mumbled, leaning in for another kiss. David pecked her lips then stood. He offered his hand, and Chelsea took it as she stood. 

-

I woke up The Spine's recliner in the back of the HoW. The Spine and Clue were sitting in a second recliner. The Spine was humming softly, and Clue was sleeping in his lap. I sat up and held my head. The Spine looked up and smiled at me. "Are you alright?" he asked quietly. 

"Did I hit my head or something?" 

"You ran into Clue in the hall." 

"It feels like someone really small went up my nose and is beating the inside of my skull with a tiny sledge hammer." 

"That's… very graphic." 

"Too much?" 

The Spine shrugged. "David likes using long similes to describe discomfort, too." 

"I bet he does." I sat forward. "How long have you been in here?" 

"Two hours. Roughly." 

"What time is it?" 

"Eight o'clock." 

I swore under my breath. "I was supposed to meet Camille an hour ago." I got up and left quickly. 

Camille was sitting in the middle of her bed with her legs crossed and her head sunken. A book was in her lap. I took the book and marked the page before closing it and setting it on the night stand. Camille sat up. "You're late." 

"I know, I'm sorry. I apparently passed out, but I came here as soon as I woke up." 

"You missed the window. It's gone now." 

I frowned. "I'm sorry." 

Camille sighed. "It's okay. I snapped a couple pictures of it, if you wanna see." She closed her book and got up. She went to her desk and picked up a couple photos. She brightened the lights and showed me. I smiled. 

"Beautiful," I whispered. I wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She leaned against me. "I wish I could've been there." 

"Me too," she mumbled sadly. 

"There's always next time, yeah?" 

"Hopefully. This doesn't happen often, and I don't live forever." She looked up at me. "Will you live forever?" 

"I don't know." I tucked hair that'd fallen out of her bun behind her ear. "It's getting late," I murmured. "I need to shower." 

"I was going to make tea. Would you be interested?" 

"May I join you? I haven't sat in the rafters in a while." 

Camille chuckled. "Alright, then." She held my hand as we went down the hall. She had me take down two mugs and the tea boxes so she could pick one. We decided to combine a bag of her favorite with a bag of mine. I put the boxes back then kissed her cheek as I went to jump into the rafters. Pushing the air under my wings stung, but only a little. 

"Do you wanna drink it up here? I found some boards we can sit on." I jumped from rafter to rafter to get to said boards. "They look like they can hold both of us. Unless you wanna just sit on the rafters." 

"How did you get up there?" 

"I jumped." 

"You can really jump that high?" 

"I have semi-functional wings." 

"I thought you said they don't work?" 

"I can double jump, like in that game with the plumber." 

Camille muttered something under her breath. 

"What was that?" 

"Nothing, birdie." 

One of the boards fell to the floor, making Camille jump nearly out of her skin, and I froze. She turned around. "Sorry." 

"I can't hand that back to you." 

"I can get it." I jumped down and grabbed the board. 

"My significant other is Batman," Camille whispered. 

"What does 'significant other' mean?" I asked as looked up at the rafters. 

"It's the neutral term for 'boyfriend' or 'girlfriend.'" 

I tossed the board toward the rafters a few feet away, hoping uselessly it would land without much sound. "Really? Words got a whole lot less romantic since I learned them." The board landed but fell off the other side onto the couch I usually landed on. I sighed and tried again. It fell again. 

"Do you call it something else?" 

I picked the board up and jumped onto the rafter above me with it. I held myself up with one arm and pulled the board up with the other. "'Immortal beloved.' Beethoven coined it." I tucked my wings around me as I pulled them up over the rafters and then straightened them out behind me so I could arrange the boards to make a deck without falling. 

Camille smiled. "That's really cute." She turned back around and gasped. "What on Earth are you doing?" 

"Moving boards." 

"Isn't that painful?" 

"Nope. I don't weigh a lot, so there isn't much to hold." I looked over my shoulder. "I'm definitely gonna need to clean the feathers when I'm done." 

"Definitely. How am I supposed to get up there?" 

"Do you trust me?" 

"Should I?" 

"I haven't hit my head yet, so I think it's safe." I tucked my wings back around me and let them dangle at my sides. "Watch for splinters, though." I dropped down and sneezed. 

"Dusty?" Camille giggled. I smiled as I shook my wings out. "Tea's almost done." I joined her by the stove and wrapped my arms around her. She reached up toward my face, and I picked her up and set her on the counter. She pulled me closer by the collar of my shirt and kissed me. I moved my hands down to her waist. I started to pull away for air, but she held my head in place. 

"I need to breathe," I mumbled. 

"You can breathe tomorrow." She kissed me again. I caved and returned it. Someone cleared their throat. 

"Your tea's boiling over," Steve said quietly. I pulled away and sighed. I quickly got a cup of cold water and dumped it into the pot. I took it off the heat and poured the tea into the mugs on the counter. Camille slid off the counter and turned the burner off. 

"Do you want some?" she offered. 

"I'm okay, thanks." He filled a huge bottle with water from the sink and left as quietly as he came. Camille put sugar in one of the mugs. 

"Are we going up there?" Camille nodded toward the rafters. 

"If you want to." 

She nodded. I picked my mug up and led her to the couch. I took her mug and set both on the table in front of it. I stood on the couch and offered my hand. She took it and stood with me. "I'm gonna put you up there then hand you the tea, okay?" She nodded again. I grabbed her by the hips and lifted her until she could sit on the boards. I retrieved the mugs from the table and gave them to her. She moved away from the edge and set them down. I stepped off the couch and went to the other side of the boards. 

"Clarke?" 

"I'm right here." I jumped and forced my wings through the air under them to reach the rafters and pull myself up. I made sure I wouldn't fall then jumped onto the deck. To my surprise, it didn't move in the slightest. Camille smiled and set my tea down in my view. I crawled to her and sat down. I picked my mug up and carefully sipped it. 

"Immortal beloved, right?" 

I nodded. "Or anything that sounds like Oscar Wilde wrote it." 

"I thought you couldn't read before you came here." 

"Dean read to me. He was taught to read." 

"He's human, right?" I nodded again. "How old is he?" 

"Legally, a year younger than you. So twenty four, I believe. I don't know his birthday. He was born in 1993." 

"How old is he actually?" 

"I don't know." 

"You're not related?" 

"I don't have any biological family. My existence is biologically impossible, as far as anyone knows. I'm literally a walking science experiment." 

"You're one hell of a science experiment." 

I smiled. "Thank you." 

"Hello?" David called. "Anyone there?" 

"I'll be back." I kissed Camille's cheek and snuck out onto a rafter. I dropped down with my wings out for balance. David jumped. "Hey, David." 

"Hey. Talking to yourself?" 

"No, Camille's up there with me." 

"How'd you get her up there?" 

"With my arms." 

"Have you thought about how to get her down?" 

"Yep." 

"In a not-painful way?" 

"Yep. This isn't the first time I've done this." 

"... Alright, then." He got a cup out of the cabinet. "Did you guys make tea?" 

"Yeah. You can have some if you want." 

"You're gonna bathe after you're done, right?" 

"Of course." 

"Good. Well, I'll leave y'all alone. Chelsea's expecting me back soon. Night, Clarke. Night, Camille!" 

"Night!" 

We both smiled. I jumped onto the rafters again and walked down one until I was back on the deck. Camille watched me carefully. "I'm not gonna fall." 

"You don't know that." 

I looked down and pretended to stumble. My foot slipped, and I fell off. I caught myself with one hand on the neighboring beam. "Okay, I fell." I pulled myself up and stood, spreading my wings. "But I didn't." 

"Very funny. Get over here before you die." 

"I'm afraid that won't happen for a while." I stepped onto the deck. I sat back in my place and chuckled. 

"You scared me." 

"I caught myself." I smiled proudly. 

"You still fell." 

"But I didn't fall." I leaned forward and kissed her. She grabbed my shirt collar. I pried her hands away and pulled back. She frowned. I pushed her mug toward her. She picked it up slowly with a soft glare at me. She sneezed then giggled. 

"What do you think they're doing?" she asked quietly. 

"Who?" 

"David and Chelsea." She brought her mug up to her lips. 

"Probably something unspeakable. Like board games." 

Camille snorted, nearly spitting her tea out. "Let's call it that." 

I didn't understand, so I laughed. 

-

Chelsea traced a scar on David's ribcage with her finger as he struggled to catch his breath. He looked down at her and held her a little tighter. "What time is it?" he asked softly. 

"Midnight." She sat up. "You need to sleep." 

David sighed. "Right. Needles." 

Chelsea leaned over and kissed his cheek. She got up and dug into her desk for the syringe and cotton balls. She came back and sat on his pelvis. His head easily moved to expose his neck, and he grabbed her hips. She quickly gave him the shot. "Do you want a sticker?" 

David smiled sleepily. "I love you," he mumbled. 

Chelsea chuckled. She got up and threw the syrings and cotton balls away. She took a sticker off her sticker sheet and stuck it on his cheek. He reached up and touched it. She got back in bed and took David's hand. It fell limp in her hand. He turned his head and slowly blinked. Chelsea smiled and kissed the tip of his nose. "I love you." David smiled. "Go to sleep, love." 

-

Chelsea ran through the manor, tearing curtains open as she went. The people she passed asked if everything was okay, but she ignored them. She was pretty sure Steve was chasing her, but she didn't have time to turn around and check. She could only confirm when he tackled her from behind and pinned her to the floor. Chelsea squirmed and fought and screamed until Steve covered her mouth. 

"What the hell is your problem?" 

"Camille's gone, she's gone, they took her again, she's gone, Clarke's gone-" she babbled. 

"Chelsea." 

Chelsea stopped. 

"We'll find her. No one has been here except us. Are you going to be calm if I let you go?" 

Chelsea nodded. Steve got off her and helped her stand. "Okay, where was she when you last saw her?" 

"She was still sleeping." 

"Have you asked anyone else? Did David see them after you did?" 

David. Why hadn't she thought of that? 

"He said something about them last night, but I don't remember what." 

"Go find him." 

Chelsea nodded and went to David's room. He was sitting at his desk and writing in a notebook. "Have you seen Camille or Clarke?" 

David looked up and spun his chair around. 

"I've been looking for them all morning and Steve just tackled me and he told me to find you and-" 

"Woah, slow down," he got up and grabbed her shoulders. "Are they outside? Or in their room?" 

Chelsea shook her head. 

David nodded slowly. "I think I might know where they are. I need to get Bunny first, though. Or someone as tall as she is." 

"Spine?" 

David smiled. "This should be fun." He kissed her forehead and took her hand as he started to leave the room. They went to the HoW. "Hey, Spine?" he yelled in the direction of the wires. The Spine slithered out with a glare on his face. "I need your help getting Clarke and Camille." 

The Spine sighed. "Arm." 

David went toward the wires and held his arm out. The Spine practically rolled onto his shoulder, and David took him to his body in the back room. Chelsea followed them into the kitchen. They stood not quite under boards in the rafters and looked up. The Spine sighed as David started to climb onto his shoulders. He stood up straight, and The Spine grabbed his legs. David grabbed something on top of the boards. Chelsea started pouring coffee for herself and Camille. 

David hugged Chelsea from behind. "They're coming down. They fell asleep there last night." He kissed the side of her head. 

"How are they getting down? Clarke just rolls off the side." 

"They're going to be more careful with her." 

Chelsea turned around and watched Clarke jump down with Camille half-asleep clinging to them. They set her down and walked her to the counter. They took down a mug and poured coffee into it. Chelsea slid one of the cups she made to Camille. She grabbed it and sat in her place at the counter. 

David got a big cup of water for The Spine and set it on the counter. He went to where he was standing. He took his arm and led him to the counter. He pushed the cup into his hand. The Spine looked down at it. "You have to drink it, buddy." 

"I don't need it," he mumbled as he set it down. David put it back in his hand. 

They bickered for a few minutes, which consisted of David insisting The Spine drink water and The Spine doing everything in his power to ignore him. Clarke turned The Spine around and gave him a different glass of water. They whispered something, and The Spine nodded. He drank half the glass then gave it back. David and Chelsea gaped at them. Camille made a noise, and Clarke set their hand on her shoulder. David hugged Chelsea tight and set his head on hers. 

"I don't think I wanna talk today," he said into her hair. Chelsea hummed as a reply. She had him let go of her and sat with him at the counter with her coffee. 

"David?" Clarke touched his shoulder. "Would you help me clean my wings sometime today?" 

David nodded into his fist as he yawned. 


	10. Chapter 10

The Spine watched David climb through the wires to the back room. He crawled into his recliner and wrapped his arms around himself. The Spine slid out of the wires and onto David's shoulder. "David?" 

David raised an eyebrow. 

"Are you alright?" 

David nodded. 

"You don't seem very alright to me." 

David closed his eyes. 

"David?" 

David opened one eye. 

"Are you upset with me?" 

David shook his head. 

"Are you not speaking today?" 

David smiled and closed his eye. 

"Are you going to sleep?" 

David shrugged. 

The Spine frowned and circled around David's shoulders so his head was resting on his shoulder and his tail was dangling in front of him. David patted the back of The Spine's neck. 

-

David woke up in The Spine's recliner with The Spine still on his shoulder. "David, are you awake?" he asked as soft as he could after a few seconds. 

"Yeah," he said quietly. "Did you need something?" 

"No." He slid out of his lap. "I didn't want you to get lonely while you were sleeping." 

David smiled. "Thanks, buddy. Want me to take you back to your body?" 

"Please. It's almost time for dinner." 

David stood and took The Spine to the back room. The Spine connected to his body and stood. He brushed himself off and took David to the kitchen with a hand barely touching his arm. 

David sat down silently, and Rabbit set a glass of water in front of him with a hand on his shoulder. He smiled up at her. 

Clarke whispered to Camille, who was very obviously in pain. David frowned. Chelsea came in and gave her a couple pills. She took them then set her head on the table. Chelsea took David's hand as she sat down. "How much longer is she gonna be in that much pain?" 

"I don't know." David had never seen wounds as bad as hers, not even on himself. 

"How can you not know?" 

"There's no way to tell. For now, we keep her on painkillers." He squeezed her hand. "I can have Peter write her a script, if need be." 

"How much studying did you have to do to get your medical certification?" 

"Three days, not including the exam. She's healing as she should be: a little faster, actually. She's gonna be in pain sometimes. There's no way to tell when it stops. It may never stop." 

Chelsea sighed. 

"It sucks, I know. We'll manage." 

"How did Bunny manage? Before you guys came here?" 

"She did her best. Just made sure I was taken care of." 

Chelsea nodded slowly. "How are you doing?" 

"I'm great. I took a nap in the back of the wires, and Spine stayed with me the whole time." 

David saw Rabbit nudge The Spine out of the corner of his eye. He smiled at the table. 

"How are you?" 

She sighed. "The day is long. Too many hours." 

"But just as many hours of glorious, glorious sleep." He smiled and kissed her cheek. "Provided you actually go to sleep instead of reading until the early hours of the morning." 

"I might go to bed early," she mumbled. 

"That's a lot of sleep." 

She nodded and set her head on his shoulder. David kissed the side of her head. 

Food was passed around, and nearly all conversation around the table stopped. They ate in near silence, only broken by the robots' mechanical sounds. Camille finished first and immediately excused herself. Clarke watched her leave then shoveled the rest of their plate into their mouth and followed. 

Chelsea frowned. David nudged her gently. She glanced at him then back at her food. He finished his food then refilled Chelsea's glass with water. He set it in front of her with a kiss on her head then went to go check on Camille. 

Clarke was sitting on the floor outside her room with their head in their hands. David crouched down to their level. "Did she kick you out?" he asked quietly. 

They nodded. "Painkillers aren't working." 

David stood and went into Camille's room, where she was lying in the middle of the floor. He sat beside her and set his hand on her shoulder. She looked up then looked away. "Hurts," she mumbled. 

"I know, I know. Can I see?" 

Camille slowly rolled onto her stomach. David carefully lifted her jacket and moved the bandages. He frowned. "What's wrong?" 

"It's infected." 

"It can be fixed, right?" 

"Of course, yeah. When's the last time these were cleaned?" 

"Can't reach them." 

David sighed. "I can help with that for now, but can Clarke help?" 

"Probably." She rolled back onto her side. "Is it supposed to be this bad?" 

"I don't know." 

Camille closed her eyes. "Now?" 

"As fast as possible." 

She sighed. "Could you help me sit up?" David carefully did, and Camille grabbed his shoulders. "Give me a second." 

"Take all the time you need," he spoke quietly. "Though I will die if I don't take my meds in roughly two hours." 

Camille laughed softly. "Do I have to take my jacket off?" 

"You can wear it backwards if you're uncomfortable." 

"That's too much effort." 

David chuckled. "Ready to stand?" Camille nodded and squeezed his shoulders. "Just tell me if you need to stop." He held her waist as gently as he could. Slowly, they stood, only stopping once. Camille had yet to let go of him. David couldn't pry her hands off him without dropping her or risking ripping her stitches, so he had to carry her to the bathroom. He knelt to set her on the edge of the tub. "Can you take this off?" He pinched the sleeve of her jacket. She unzipped it and started to shrug it off then stopped. She shook her head. David carefully pushed it off her shoulders and took the bunched up sleeves off her hands. "Are you sure you don't wanna wear it backwards?" 

"I don't care." 

David set the jacket in her lap. "Read any books lately?" he asked as he started running water in the tub. He took a rag out of the cabinet below the sink then clogged the drain. 

"Not any exceptionally good ones." 

David carefully wet the rag down. "Nothing?" 

"Reading is dry." 

"So it's just been the one book, I guess?" 

She nodded slowly. "The books Clarke's reading are more interesting." 

David turned the water off. "So they're reading to you now?" 

"Sometimes." She pulled the sleeves of her jacket over her forearms then pushed them up until her hands came out the other ends. "They stop if they get to a difficult part so they can reread it." 

David smiled. "Chelsea does that, too." He put soap on the rag and had Camille turn so he had better access to her back. "I'm going to start here." He touched her spine between the slits. She nodded and took a deep breath. "Tell me if you need to stop," he murmured. 

"It shouldn't be this bad." 

"You'd be surprised." 

Camille looked down. "How bad is it supposed to get?" 

"I don't know." 

"How long?" 

"I don't know." 

"How do you not know?" 

"There's no way to tell." 

"Do you know when it stops?" 

"Unfortunately not." 

Camille started to turn back around. David held the rag in his lap. "I think I understand why you want to die so badly," she whispered. 

David dropped the rag into the bathwater and hugged her as hard as would allow himself. "It's not gonna last forever." 

"How long will it last?" David didn't like how small she sounded. 

"I don't know, Camille. I don't know." 

Camille slowly set her head on his shoulder then lifted it. She pushed David's arms away and turned back around. David took the rag back out of the tub and continued cleaning her back. She winced. 

"This part might hurt a little," David whispered. 

Camille nodded. "Can… can-can I- no, it's stupid." 

"I'm sure it's not stupid. It's okay." 

Camille looked down at her lap. "Can I hold your hand?" 

David smiled. He stretched his hand out. "Gonna keep going," he said softly, lifting the rag. . 

"Wait!" 

David stopped. "Need something?" 

Camille shook her head. "Just gimme a second." 

"Take your time." David checked his watch. "As long as you need." 

Camille straightened up. "Okay." 

"Ready?" 

Camille nodded. She squeezed his hand. 

"You're sure?" 

"Just get it over with." 

David carefully finished, taking short breaks when Camille made pained noises. It felt like no time had passed by the time he finished. He drained the tub and tossed the rag in her laundry basket. He looked at her jacket in her lap and frowned. "Do you have another jacket?" 

She shook her head. "This is the only one." 

"Can you borrow someone else's? It needs to be washed." 

"I don't think anyone else has one that zips." 

David thought for a moment. "Sit tight. I'll be right back." He left her room to find Clarke had fallen asleep against the wall. David went back into the room and leaned into the bathroom. Camille looked up. "Is it okay if Clarke comes in? They fell asleep in the hall." She nodded. David went back out and knelt in front of them and gently shook their shoulder. Their eyes opened, and they took a deep breath. "Hey, buddy. Camille said you can go in now." He helped them up and sent them into the room. They mumbled something, to him or Camille, David wasn't sure. He blew it off and went to his room. He dug his old jacket out of his closet and brought it back to Camille's room. She sniffled as he sat on his knees. He draped the jacket over her shoulders. "It doesn't zip, but I figured buttons would be okay." 

"Didn't you get here in this?" 

David nodded. "I'm surprised it hasn't disintegrated yet." 

"Would you kill me if I messed it up?" 

"I don't think you will, but no, I won't kill you if you mess it up." 

Camille smiled. "You should take your meds soon." 

"I will, don't worry." David smiled up at her. "You should take your hair down." 

"Could you help me with that? I can't reach it." 

"Of course. Hairbrush?" 

"Up there." She pointed at the cabinet above the sink. 

David stood and retrieved the hairbrush from the cabinet. He sat where he had been on the edge of the tub, and Camille turned her back to him. He carefully took the hair tie out of her hair. "It's getting curly again," he commented. 

"Yeah," she chuckled. "It's poofier now." 

David carefully started brushing Camille's hair out. She shivered. "Cold?" 

"Not really." 

David said nothing for a while as he carefully brushed her hair out. When he was finished, he put the brush back. He looked at his shaking hands. "I have to go to bed now." 

Camille nodded. "Thanks." She stood and hugged him. 

David smiled and held her tight. "Any time." He pulled away and squeezed her shoulder. "Get some sleep." 

"You too." 

David took her laundry basket before she noticed and took it to the laundry room. He sorted it into smaller, separate baskets in the corner of the room and started a couple loads then went back to his room, where Chelsea was coming out of the bathroom. She jumped when she saw him. He chuckled. "How's Camille?" 

"Her stitches infected, which is probably why she was in so much pain. She's a lot better now." 

Chelsea nodded. "Good." 

David yawned as he started to undress. "Have you already showered?" 

"Yeah, right after dinner." 

"How long has it been since then?" 

"Like four hours." 

"There's no way it took that long." 

"I read an entire book cover to cover." 

"Was it good?" David took his meds with water from the bathroom sink. 

She shrugged. "Disappointing story arc, but easy to read." 

"Disappointing? How so?" 

"Could've been expanded so much more than it was." 

David took a syringe and a bottle of his injection out. "Could you read it to me some time?" he asked Chelsea as he gave them to her. He sat on the edge of his bed and tilted his head to the side. 

"Maybe." Chelsea quickly gave him the shot and kissed his cheek. "Alright, to bed you go." 

David clumsily got in bed and pulled the covers over his shoulder. Chelsea joined him and fell asleep faster than David did. 


	11. The Light at The End of The Tunnel is Not The Destination People Assume

I woke up to Camille trying to lie down on top of me. I sat up slowly and wrapped my arms around her. "Better now?" I asked into her hair. She nodded. 

"Did I wake you up?" She sounded scared. 

"I don't mind." I held her tighter. She pushed my arms away from her. I frowned. "You okay?" 

"Still kinda hurts." Camille closed her eyes, resting her forehead on mine. "David helped a lot." 

"That's good." I nudged my nose against hers. "Is that his jacket?" I pinched the sleeve. 

"Yeah; he said mine needs to be washed." 

"Is that why the laundry basket is gone, too?" 

"What?" She turned around and sighed. "Yeah, I guess so." 

I chuckled. "I gotta go back to sleep, Camille. It's late." I kissed her cheek. She held my shoulders. I wrapped my arms around her again and started to lie down, but she didn't move. "What is it?" 

"I love you." 

I smiled. "You didn't have to tell me that." 

Camille frowned. "Why not?" 

"I already knew." I kissed the tip of her nose then her lips. She smiled and squeezed my shoulders. "I love you, too, by the way." 

"I know." Camille kissed me. "We can go to sleep now." 

I squeezed her waist and laid down with her on top of me. She straightened her legs out carefully. "Goodnight, Camille." 

"Goodnight, birdie." 

-

David sat down at the counter with a glass of water. The rest of the group looked at him warily. "Did I miss something?" he asked quietly. 

"Where have you been?" Michael asked, setting a plate in front of him. David thanked him then spoke: 

"Laundry." 

Eyes darted to Camille. She wrapped her arms around herself. 

"Is this about the jacket?" 

Camille nodded. 

David sighed. "I'm letting her borrow mine until hers is clean. Is it really that big of a deal?" 

The congregation was silent. David could almost hear them blinking. His eyebrow flicked up. They mumbled as they continued eating. 

When she was done, Camille got up and went around the table to set her hand on David's shoulder. "Thanks," she whispered in his ear. 

"Of course. Your jacket's in the dryer. I'll check it when I'm done." 

Camille squeezed his shoulder then walked away. 

Bunny nudged him. "What's that about?" 

"Her jacket needed washed." 

She gave him a look. 

"I cleaned her stitches last night." David drank half his glass. "Her jacket hadn't been washed since she got back. So I gave her mine until it's out of the laundry." 

"That's it?" 

"That's it." David started eating. 

Chelsea stood and rinsed her plate in the sink. She turned David's head by his chin and kissed him. "Lunch," she whispered into his mouth. "Duck pond. Bring a blanket." She kissed him again then left. David finished his food with a smile then cleared his place. 

"Spine?" 

The Spine looked up at his name. "Yes, David?" 

"Maintenance in ten." 

He nodded. 

David went to his room and brushed his teeth. He took a couple minutes to write in his notebook. When he was finished, he grabbed his goggles, earpiece and gloves off the desk and went to the HoW, where The Spine was reading a book in his usual maintenance chair. He looked up and closed it. He set his book on the table. "You can keep reading. I just need your panels." David put his earpiece in his ear. 

"I know, David," The Spine chuckled. "This isn't my first maintenance." 

"Right. I knew that." 

The Spine continued chuckling as he loosened his tie and took his hat off. "What does Chelsea have planned for lunch?" He took his tie off and set it on the table. He started to unbutton his vest. 

David smiled. "You know I can't tell you." 

"You haven't done that already this year?" He took his vest off and folded it neatly before he set it with the tie. He untucked his shirt and unbuttoned it then folded it just as neatly as he did the vest. 

"Not yet. It's just now June." David put his gloves on. 

"Can I have a hint?" 

"You're too smart to get a hint." 

The Spine frowned then lit up. "Is it a nationally observed holiday?" 

"No hints." 

"So that's a 'yes.'" 

"No hints." 

"Flag day?" 

"No hints." 

"So father's day." 

David sighed. "No hints." 

"Is it the kid in the goggles? The little girl?" 

"No hints." 

"Do you still see her?" 

David rolled his eyes. "No hints." 

"You don't see her anymore?" 

"How many times do I have to say 'no hints?'" 

The Spine held his breath. "I'm sorry for your loss." 

David rubbed his eyes. "It was a long time ago." 

"How long?" 

"A couple months." 

"David, that's not a long time." 

"Can we not talk about this?" 

The Spine quickly shut up. "Could you turn my sense of touch off until you're done?" 

David opened his back panel and grabbed a small wrench from the toolbox on the table. He turned The Spine's touch off. "Better?" 

"For this sake, yes." 

"Can you feel on the inside?" 

"Yes, and it's the worst thing I've ever felt." 

David made sure everything was okay in The Spine's back before he moved to his front. The Spine's voice came through his earpiece: "I think it's nice you're still celebrating." David smiled a little but said nothing. 

-

David was silent as he sat down at the counter. I smiled at him, and he attempted to return it without success. "You doing okay?" He nodded. 

"Rough day," he signed. I nodded. 

Chelsea hugged David from behind and kissed the side of his head. He smiled a little as she whispered something to him. He turned his head, and they kissed. Chelsea glanced at me then whispered something else. David smiled again, this time wider. He grabbed her hand as she started to walk away. She continued until their hands had to part. 

"Love is gross, huh?" Camille said playfully. 

"I don't think so," I mumbled. I leaned over and kissed her. She pushed at my shoulder. I sat up. "You okay?" 

"Yeah, I'm good. My back hurts a little." 

"Stitches?" 

She nodded. 

"Have you taken painkillers at all today?" 

"Not recently." 

"After dinner you should." I reached for her hand on her lap. She held it loosely. 

"I'm just gonna go to bed," she mumbled as she got up. She let go of my hand. 

"You're not gonna eat?" 

“Not tonight.” She shook her head. 

I bit my lip. “If you need me…” 

The corner of Camille’s mouth twitched up. “I know.” David’s eyes followed her as she left then looked at me confusedly. 

“She doesn’t feel well,” I signed with a sigh. He nodded once. Chelsea sat down and ran her hand up David’s arm. He flinched rather violently. She gently turned his head by his chin and whispered. David nodded. He got up and left, and just as quickly as The Spine came in, he turned and followed him. 

I always wondered what happened to David. 


End file.
